Rassie Erasmus will name his first matchday 23 of the 2026 season on Tuesday, 16 June at around 3pm, ahead of the Springboks' clash with the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday, 20 June (kick-off 15:00 SAST).
Mzwandile Stick, taking head coach duties for the SA A fixture against Zimbabwe, will announce his side at the same time. The Zimbabwe match kicks off at 12:00 SAST at the same venue and is broadcast on SuperSport.
Any uncapped South African players who feature for SA A against Zimbabwe will be captured to the Springbok programme, adding further significance to the earlier fixture.
The updated touring squad now stands at 54 after the initial 51-man group was supplemented by Phepsi Buthelezi and Carlu Sadie, and then Ruben van Heerden as a replacement for the injured Salmaan Moerat. The squad contains 21 uncapped players.
Erasmus described the opening camp as productive, singling out the contribution of Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote and SA Rugby High-Performance GM Dave Wessels in preparing the younger players for the senior environment.
Saturday's Boks-Barbarians fixture will be refereed by Morné Ferreira, with Marius Jonker serving as FPRO.
It is the second consecutive season the Boks have opened against the Barbarians on home soil, following last year's 54–7 win at DHL Stadium in Cape Town — the Baa-Baas' first-ever fixture in South Africa.