Springboks name six uncapped players for November Tests

Six new faces for the final leg

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has handed first national call-ups to six uncapped players in a 37-man squad for the second leg of the Nations Championship in November. Yaqeen Ahmed, Sebastian de Klerk, Luan Giliomee, Markus Muller, Riley Norton and Emmanuel Tshituka will travel with South Africa for the last four Tests of the season, a selection announced on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.

The announcement, published by SA Rugby, frames the tour as both a closing chapter and a test of depth. South Africa will face Italy in Genoa on 7 November, France in Paris on 13 November and Ireland in Dublin on 21 November, before the Finals Weekend in London on 27 to 29 November, when their final opponent will be determined by the competition standings.

Erasmus stressed that none of the six is a stranger to the national set-up. Ahmed, Giliomee, Muller and Tshituka have represented South Africa A against Zimbabwe, while Norton, a former Junior Springbok captain, played for the Springboks against the Barbarians in the season-opening matches. De Klerk attended a national alignment camp last season.

"We've had all six players on our radar for a while now, and they've delivered consistently for their respective franchises in the last two seasons, so they thoroughly deserve their call-ups," Erasmus said. "We've seen what most of them are capable of firsthand in our season-opening matches and at our training camps, so we are delighted to see what they have to offer on this tour."

The coach also linked the selections to a longer-term principle. "Building squad depth has always been one of our key pillars, and all those players have shown they have what it takes to compete at top franchise level," he said. "Riley, Luan and Yaqeen were also part of Junior Springbok squads that have won the Junior World Championship, and Luan also played for the Blitzboks, so they know what it takes to perform at top level."

Experience around the newcomers

The newcomers join a settled core led by captain Siya Kolisi, alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende. South Africa finished top of the Nations Championship Southern Series in July after victories over England, Scotland and Wales, and later claimed the inaugural Rugby's Greatest Rivalry title against New Zealand. Several squad members also featured in Tests against Argentina and Australia.

That record gives context rather than a guarantee in Europe. Italy, France and Ireland each present a different examination, and for the uncapped players the value of the tour may lie as much in preparation and Test-week routines as in any minutes they earn on the field.

The wider squad includes props Thomas du Toit, Ox Nche, Wilco Louw, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen and Gerhard Steenekamp; hookers Malcolm Marx and Jan-Hendrik Wessels; locks Lood de Jager, Salmaan Moerat, Ruan Nortje, Norton and Franco Mostert; and loose forwards Paul de Villiers, Kolisi, Cameron Hanekom, Tshituka and Jasper Wiese. Behind the scrum are Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg and Grant Williams at scrumhalf; Ahmed, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Giliomee and Manie Libbok at flyhalf; de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Muller and Canan Moodie at centre; and de Klerk, Aphelele Fassi, Ethan Hooker, Edwill van der Merwe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse among the outside backs.

Injuries open the door

The most significant absences help explain some of the openings. Cheslin Kolbe, Eben Etzebeth, Andre Esterhuizen and Handre Pollard were ruled out through injury, while Kwagga Smith and RG Snyman are also among the injured players not available for selection. Erasmus acknowledged the loss directly, while pointing to the cover available and the opportunity created.

"It's always sad to lose players of that calibre, but we are pleased with the cover we have in those positions, and it also offers other players the opportunity to put up their hands," he said. "The majority of the players in this group have been with us for most of the season and know what our expectations are and also what to anticipate at this level, so we are excited about the group we've selected for this vital leg of the season."

Erasmus added that facing top teams in elite international rugby would be a completely different challenge, but said he had full faith in the newcomers to do their best on tour. That phrasing neither promises debuts nor treats selection as a reward alone: in his system, a first call-up is the start of a competition for a place, not the end of one.

The squad will assemble in Italy in different groups on Sunday and Monday, because United Rugby Championship matches are still to be played this weekend. That staggered arrival underlines how tight the turnaround is between domestic rugby and Test preparation.

For South Africa, the broader stakes are clear. The team leads the Southern Hemisphere standings on points difference, level on 15 points with New Zealand, according to Business Day's report of the announcement. November will test whether depth built in July can survive its hardest away examination yet. If one or more of the six earns a cap, the tour will be remembered for that breakthrough; if not, it may still matter as the week when the next layer of Springbok rugby was measured against Europe's best.