Rassie casts the net wide for first Bok camp
02/14/2025 04:25 AM
Akker van der Merwe is one of 17 Vodacom Bulls players in a 56-man group set to attend the first Springbok alignment camp of 2025, which will include 22 uncapped members.
Hooker Van der Merwe, who earned all three of his Test caps in 2018 during Rassie Erasmus' first season as Bok coach, will join fellow Bulls stars Cobus Wiese and Sebastian de Klerk, along with recent Junior Springboks Jurenzo Julius, Reinhardt Ludwig and JF van Heerden in Cape Town next month.
The Boks will get the wheels in motion for the season when Erasmus and his management team host their first in-person coaches' strategic session of the year, followed by a three-day camp, in March. This will mark their first gathering following a memorable 2024 international season.
Erasmus and his support staff will also host virtual alignment camps with the overseas-based players, a group of talented youngsters, and injured players plying their trade domestically, who were not invited to this camp, following the conclusion of this session.
The coaches will assemble in the Mother City on Friday, 7 March in preparation for the Incoming Series in July, the Rugby Championship between August and October, and the end-of-year tour in November.
The alignment camp, which is set to conclude on Wednesday, 12 March, will comprise two gymnasium sessions and a series of boardroom meetings to get the players up to speed on the requirements and expected standards for season.
The group includes 18 members of the 2023 Rugby World Cup-winning squad – 10 of which were also crowned champions at the 2019 World Cup, and five of whom participated in the 2015 international extravaganza.
A handful of players will get to work with the coaching staff once again after either being involved in previous alignment camps or the national setup, as well as the SA 'A' team. This group includes the likes of Mpilo Gumede, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Henco van Wyk, while players such as Julius, Van Heerden and Ludwig will get their first taste of Springbok rugby.
Erasmus was pleased with the make-up alignment squad and said it featured a balance of new and old faces.
"Our alignment camps have proven invaluable in the last few years as it offers us the opportunity to present our structures for the season, as well as the Springbok culture and way of doing things," said Erasmus.
"The focus at this camp will be to get everyone on the same page for the 2025 season, which will be vital in laying a good foundation for us to build on with a challenging campaign coming up."
Zooming in on the composition of the group invited to the camp, Erasmus said: "Most of these players have formed part of our structures at some stage in the last seven years, and their experience and familiarity with the way we do things at the Springboks will be invaluable in guiding the younger players, while others have been exposed to our structures before, so they have a good understanding of the way we operate.
"I'm also excited for the new players in the mix, who have made their mark at franchise level, and we are excited to see them receive this opportunity to get a taste of what is expected of them at the highest level."
Erasmus added that the coaches have already laid a good foundation in terms of preparation and analysis in the last few months since wrapping up the 2024 Castle Lager Outgoing Tour, where the Springboks won all three of their matches for the first time since 2013, capping off a magnificent season in which they won 11 out of their 13 Tests for a remarkable 84,6% win record.
"We have been locked in several coaches' meetings in the last month, and each coach has been keeping an eye on the players' performances during the Vodacom URC, Investec Champions Cup, and EPCR Challenge Cup, so from a planning and analysis perspective, we are on a good wicket. The next step is to start working through our structures with the players."
This will mark the first of three alignment camps as the Springboks lay the foundation for the international season, which will see the world champions and Rugby Championship title-holders face Italy in back-to-back Tests on 5 and 12 July, followed by a clash against Georgia on 19 July in the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
They will launch their title defence of the Rugby Championship in August with successive matches against Australia in South Africa (on 16 and 23 August), before travelling to New Zealand where they will face their arch-rivals, the All Blacks, in Auckland and Wellington (on 6 and 13 September).
The team will return to South Africa for a clash against Argentina (27 September) and will wrap up their campaign with the closing match of the 2025 edition of the southern hemisphere showpiece against Argentina at Twickenham in London (4 October). The venues of the domestic Test matches will be announced in due course.
Players invited to Springbok alignment camp:
Forwards: Ethan Bester, Phepsi Buthelezi, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane (all Sharks); Ben-Jason Dixon, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche, Deon Fourie, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Evan Roos, Andre-Hugo Venter (all Stormers); Renzo du Plessis, Francke Horn, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ruan Venter (all Lions); Johan Grobbelaar, Mpilo Gumede, Cameron Hanekom, Wilco Louw, Reinhardt Ludwig, Ruan Nortje, Gerhard Steenekamp, Akker van der Merwe, JF van Heerden, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Bulls).
Backs: Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Ethan Hooker, Jurenzo Julius, Makazole Mapimpi, Grant Williams (all Sharks); Paul de Wet, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse (all Stormers); Quan Horn, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe, Henco van Wyk (all Lions); Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel, Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Embrose Papier (all Bulls).
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
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