Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks team to face Wales, here are our winners and losers.
In South Africa’s final game of the year, Erasmus has opted to deploy a 7-1 split for the first time in 2025 due to the number of players who are unavailable.
The clash at the Principality Stadium is outside the official World Rugby window, which means both teams are without several of their star players.
But without further ado, here are the winners and losers from Erasmus‘ selections.
Winners
Cobus Reinach
A Rahul Dravid-esque innings as Cobus Reinach will finally raise the bat, notching up his 50th Test cap for the Springboks, hitting the milestone 11 years on from making his debut as a 24-year-old against the Wallabies.
At 35, Reinach is enjoying possibly the form of his international career and shows no sign of slowing down. It’s been one hell of a journey for the rapid scrum-half who was unfortunate to miss out on the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but made the most of his chances in the next two, setting the record for the fastest hat-trick in the tournament’s history, twice!
The only thing sluggish about Reinach has been his rise to 50 caps for the Boks, but reflecting on his career, he has produced his best when the team has needed it the most. His performances during the British and Irish Lions series in 2021 proved that he was far more than just a handy back-up to Faf de Klerk, and he has driven home that point time and time again since.
2025 has been a memorable year for the evergreen number nine, and to cap it off with his 50th appearance feels rather fitting.
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Ethan Hooker
Ditto for Ethan Hooker as the Sharks’ rising star continues to adapt to life as a Springbok, a tag he has struggled to wrap his head around.
On Saturday, he earns his eighth Test cap for his country after debuting earlier this year, and perhaps the biggest compliment he can be paid is that for not a second has he looked out of place.
The 22-year-old should get comfortable with the tag ‘Springbok’ because, judging on his performances this year, the ‘ex’ prefix isn’t coming anytime soon.
Zachary Porthen
The surprise selection of November from the Springboks coaches was calling up uncapped Stormers prop Zachary Porthen and issuing him with a Test debut against Japan.
A tighthead prop by trade, scrum guru Daan Human and Erasmus seemingly have a new side project involving the former Junior Springboks captain, who will be tasked with covering loosehead prop this weekend.