Some Springbok veterans will want to impress with their places in the starting team under pressure from rising young talents.
A number of Springboks veterans will be glancing nervously over their shoulders, with exciting youngsters impressing and coming through the ranks, and now have a great chance to remind everyone of their worth in the match against Japan at Wembley on Saturday (kick-off 6:10pm).
A mixed team of youth and experience was named by coach Rassie Erasmus for the match, with a heavy Japan-based flavour, as most of the match 23 are playing club rugby there.
Here are three veteran players who will be eager to impress for the Springboks, especially with some senior players already falling out of favour heading towards the 2027 World Cup.
Jesse Kriel
You would never have expected Jesse Kriel’s starting position to be in jeopardy at the start of this season, when he deputised as Springbok captain on a number of occasions for the injured Siya Kolisi, but the second half of the Rugby Championship saw 22-year-old Canan Moodie taking centre stage in the midfield.
Kriel started five of the Boks’ first seven matches this year at 13, but after the New Zealand game in Auckland, Moodie stepped in and started the next three matches at outside centre.
Kriel, at 31, still has plenty of rugby in him, and will be a key player for the Boks at the next World Cup, but in what capacity remains to be seen, as it seems he will be battling Moodie for that starting spot going forward.
Franco Mostert
Franco Mostert is one of the veterans who could find his position in the squad in jeopardy come 2027, with a slew of youngsters putting their hands up in the positions he plays.
Mostert has been used sparingly this season, playing just four games and starting only one, the second Wallabies Test in Cape Town, and hasn’t played since.
He now has a great chance to remind everyone of his worth, with him in the No 7 jersey against Japan, and he will need to take his chance. Ruan Nortje has firmly established himself as the Boks future No 5, while injured loose forwards like Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom will add to that stacked department when they return, so 34-year-old Mostert will have plenty of young competition breathing down his neck.
Lood de Jager
Lood de Jager only made his return to the Springbok fold after a frustrating few years out with health problems and injury, earlier this year, and now will want to re-establish himself as a key senior player in the squad going into the showpiece event in Australia in 2027.
The 32-year-old has been used a fair bit by the Boks this season, playing in six out of 10 matches, with four starts, three in the No 5 jersey and one at No 4.
But an injury niggle in the second All Blacks Test in Wellington saw him drop out of the mix for the final two Rugby Championship matches against Los Pumas, and he now returns to the starting fold against Japan.
Ruan Nortje seems to be the biggest threat to his starting position, having started seven Bok games at No 5 this season, but other players like Salmaan Moerat and young Batho Hlekani will also likely challenge him for a spot.
