Signs some Bok veterans set for time on the side as Erasmus names squad for the mix-and-match

Coach Rassie Erasmus may well want to plead otherwise with some affected comments about there being no A or B team in the Springbok squad, but the end-of-year tour to Europe will clearly be divided into matches that will feature the strongest possible XV and those with more experimentation.

That management of personnel will start with the opening fixture against Japan at Wembley Stadium on November 1, before the major stars will line up for probably the biggest challenge of the tour ― France at Stade de France on November 8. There can then be rotation again for the Test against Italy in Turin on November 15, followed by the best-choice team playing again versus arch-rivals Ireland in Dublin on November 22. The tour ends with a meeting with Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on November 29, another chance to mix-and-match if results have gone well.

The squad that clinched the Rugby Championship title with successive wins against Argentina is likely to feature against France and Ireland, with the addition of wing Kurt-Lee Arendse and loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp, who are both returning from injury.

Loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon, hooker Johan Grobbelaar and lock Jean Kleyn have also been recalled after not featuring in the Rugby Championship. But the international careers of Bongi Mbonambi, Willie le Roux, Faf de Klerk, the Hendrikse brothers, Vincent Koch, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi appear to have run aground, at least temporarily, as they have been excluded.

Mbonambi, Am and Mapimpi have been named alongside seven other players who are on standby for the tour, should there be injuries.

Watching rugby in winter in the northern hemisphere can be a form of anaesthetic if the weather is particularly bad, but it does put a premium on certain positions.

Handre Pollard’s tactical kicking is likely to play more of a role and he could well feature, at least on the bench, for the crunch games against France and Ireland. It is still possible to have all of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse, Manie Libbok and Pollard in the same 23, given the versatility of those players and scrumhalf Grant Williams.

An eighthman with knockout ball-carrying ability also becomes more valuable in wet conditions when the going is heavy, and it is clearly an area where Erasmus is still not content with his options.

Jasper Wiese is the only specialist No 8 in the squad who fits that bill, with Evan Roos and the uncapped Juarno Augustus both among the standby players. Wiese surely cannot play all five matches on tour, so it begs the question: who is the back-up No 8?

Perhaps Dixon of the Stormers has been recalled to fill that role, while Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden and Pieter-Steph du Toit have all played at the back of the scrum in the past, with varying degrees of success.

The only player with no Springbok experience in the squad is Stormers tighthead prop Zachary Porthen. The former Wynberg Boys High captain has just turned 21 and is a former Junior Springboks skipper, but never mind international experience, his first URC start was last weekend.

There is no doubting Porthen’s potential, however, and his inclusion at the expense of 35-year-old Koch does not bode well for the veteran. Neethling Fouche, who is recovering from a broken arm, and Asenathi Ntlabakanye, whose doping hearing will take place in December, are the tightheads on the standby list.

There is no scrumhalf included on the standby list, which is surprising given that it is a specialist position and an injury late in the week could cause some scrambling. Perhaps Erasmus wants to see whether Jaden Hendrikse regains form, having done nothing yet for the struggling Sharks to suggest he should be elevated above Williams, Cobus Reinach and Morne van den Berg.

Hooker Marnus van der Merwe sat on the bench for the Springboks’ wins in Cape Town over Australia and in Wellington against the All Blacks, but the Scarlets star has lost his place with Johan Grobbelaar of the Bulls preferred for this tour.

Springbok squad

Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Ben-Jason Dixon (Stormers), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Wilco Louw (Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche ( Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Bulls), Zachary Porthen (Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)

Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Sharks), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Canan Moodie (Bulls), Handre Pollard (Bulls), Cobus Reinach (Stormers), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Edwill van der Merwe (Sharks), Damian Willemse (Stormers), Grant Williams (Sharks)

Players on standby

Forwards: Juarno Augustus (Ulster), Neethling Fouche (Stormers), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (Stormers), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Evan Roos (Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Sharks)

Backs: Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Sebastian De Klerk (Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks)