Cape Town — Stormers stars Manie Libbok, Evan Roos and Sacha Mngomezulu will join the Springbok training camp in Stellenbosch on their return from Wales following their United Rugby Championship (URC) tour, while Johan Goosen and Elrigh Louw are ruled out through injury.
Goosen suffered a concussion, while Louw sustained an ankle injury.
The Bok coaching staff will name the Springbok and SA ‘A’ squads for the End-of-Year Tour on Friday.
The world champions are set to play Ireland in Dublin on November 5, France in Marseille on November 12, Italy in Genoa on November 19 and England in London on November 26.
The SA ‘A’ team will face Munster on Thursday, November 10, before going up against the Bristol Bears on November 17.
“We are naming a group of 54 players next week for the Springbok and SA ‘A’ squads so it made sense for us to us to invite these players, especially since they will be in Cape Town anyway and have time off,” said SA director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus.
“Evan is a capped Springbok, while Manie and Sacha will be exposed to the national set-up for the first time, and although it is a short camp, this will be an invaluable experience for them. We are excited to see how they slot into the system and what they can do on the field.”
On Goosen's omission, Erasmus said: “Johan is recovering from concussion, and given the strict return to play protocols, he will not be able to participate fully in this camp, hence we decided it would be best for him to remain at the Bulls this week and start preparing for their URC game on Sunday.
“Fortunately, he attended our alignment camp earlier in the year and he knows our structures and systems well.
“It’s a pity that Elrigh is injured but he has been with us for a while and is very familiar with our structures, and we’ll keep an eye on the extent of his injury, although it doesn’t appear that he will be available for selection.”
The training squad will assemble at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport on Sunday, with the camp running until Wednesday.
IOL Sport