Rassie Erasmus has named six uncapped players in the 37-man Springbok squad for the second leg of the Nations Championship in November, handing first national call-ups to Riley Norton, Yaqeen Ahmed, Markus Muller, Luan Giliomee, Sebastian de Klerk and Emmanuel Tshituka.
Four of the six already own a Junior World Championship winner’s medal. The other two travelled roads that nobody would have drawn on a development plan.
Erasmus said the six had been on the Springbok radar for a while and had delivered consistently for their franchises over the past two seasons, so they thoroughly deserve their call-ups. He singled out Norton, Giliomee and Ahmed as products of Junior Springbok sides that won the Junior World Championship, and noted that Giliomee has also played for the Blitzboks.
The door opened partly through injury. Cheslin Kolbe (broken jaw), Eben Etzebeth (leg), André Esterhuizen (ankle) and Handré Pollard (hamstring) are all out, with RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith and Deon Fourie already long-term absentees.
The Six New Names In The Springbok Squad
RILEY NORTON is the 20-year-old Stormers lock who captained the Junior Springboks to the 2025 World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy, South Africa’s first junior world title in 13 years.
He played the full 80 minutes against the Barbarians in Gqeberha in June in his first senior outing in green and gold, a match that carried no Test cap.
Then came the cruel part. Erasmus had picked him to start against England at Ellis Park in the Nations Championship opener, only for a grade three hamstring tear in the closing moments of a training session to take the debut away from him.
Norton matriculated at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch and played for South Africa at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup before committing to rugby. He is a lineout forward with a captain’s head on him, and Erasmus has now picked him twice.
YAQEEN AHMED is the Stormers flyhalf the Junior Bok camp calls The Chef, for the way he carves open defences.
He steered South Africa to a 16-5 win over France in the 2026 Junior World Championship final in Tbilisi, kicking a conversion and three penalties for eight of those 16 points. That win made it back-to-back junior world titles for the first time in Junior Springbok history.
In the semi-final he scored a try and landed six conversions and two penalties in a 53-37 win over England.
Ahmed, who comes from Ottery in Cape Town, made his senior Stormers debut at flyhalf against the touring All Blacks in August and has played for South Africa A against Zimbabwe. He is one of four flyhalves named, alongside Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Luan Giliomee and Manie Libbok.
MARKUS MULLER scored South Africa’s only try in that final against France, and he is the youngest man in the squad at 19.
In April the Paarl Gimnasium product became the youngest player ever to represent the Stormers, at 18 years, nine months and 19 days, against Glasgow Warriors. The record he broke belonged to Damian Willemse, who is in this squad with him.
He also crossed the line in South Africa A’s 40-0 win over Zimbabwe, and he plays both inside and outside centre.
Erasmus has never been shy of picking on readiness rather than age, and Muller has been inside the senior environment since his first alignment camp earlier this year.
“Four of them already know how to win at the highest junior level, and the other two got here the hard way. Rassie is building for 2027 and beyond. These are the names to watch!” – 🎙️Jay
LUAN GILIOMEE is 20, listed among the flyhalves, and has worn three different jerseys inside a year.
He comes from Ceres and Charlie Hofmeyr High in the Boland, which is not one of the country’s rugby factories. He made his Blitzboks debut in Singapore and was part of the side that won the SVNS title in Perth, where he scored against Spain.
His United Rugby Championship debut came at fullback for the Sharks against Munster, and he scored. He opened this season with two tries and the player of the match award in the Sharks’ 41-24 URC win, then completed his delayed move to the Bulls.
At Loftus he was handed a first senior start at fullback in the Champions Cup opener against Stade Français, with Willie le Roux on the bench. He was also in the Junior Bok side that retained the world title in Georgia, and in the South Africa A team against Zimbabwe.
SEBASTIAN DE KLERK is 26 and did not come through the Junior Springbok system at all.
He left the Bulls for the Pumas in 2021, won the Currie Cup with them in 2022, and was named SA Rugby Premier Division Player of the Year that season after scoring eight tries from wing and outside centre.
Loftus took him back in 2023. A foot injury in March, soon after he had been in a Springbok alignment camp, ended his season and kept him out for roughly six months.
He has featured in every Bulls match this season, including the 56-20 Champions Cup win over Stade Français. The finishing and the work rate that made him the best player in the Currie Cup are back where they were.
EMMANUEL TSHITUKA, known to everyone as Manu, is the Sharks loose forward whose call-up was held up by paperwork rather than form.
He and his older brother Vincent were born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, grew up in Johannesburg and learned the game at Northcliff High School. Both had to wait years for South African IDs before they could be considered for national selection.
Manu started his top-flight career at the Lions in 2021 and followed Vincent to Durban. He was called into a Springbok alignment camp in March and started for South Africa A against Zimbabwe in June, with Vincent captaining the side from lock.
He shares a birthday with Siya Kolisi, 16 June, which the squad marked with a cake at camp. Vincent has already worn the Springbok jersey. The younger brother is now one step behind him.
What The Springbok Squad Faces In The Nations Championship Run-In
South Africa play Italy on 7 November, France on 13 November and Ireland on 21 November, before the Finals Weekend in London from 27 to 29 November. All three Tests, and the Finals Weekend itself, are live in South Africa on SuperSport.
The Springboks lead the southern hemisphere standings on points difference, level with New Zealand on 15 points. Each of those three Tests decides where they land for the Finals Weekend.
The squad assembles in Italy in groups on Sunday and Monday.
