The Springbok Women have named a largely unchanged squad for their three-match WXV Global Series tour of Europe, with Naima Hlatshwayo the sole new inclusion after Zintle Mpupha was ruled out with an ankle injury sustained against the Black Ferns last Saturday.
Hlatshwayo, a 20-year-old centre from Nellmapius Rugby Club who plays her franchise rugby for the Isuzu Bulls Daisies, steps in as a like-for-like replacement for her club teammate Mpupha. Co-coaches Franzel September and Laurian Johannes-Haupt are familiar with Hlatshwayo from the Rugby Africa Women's Cup in Nairobi earlier this year, where she scored tries in two of her three tests on debut. A July injury cost her a place in the USA series squad.
The rest of the touring party is seasoned, built around a core that September describes as central to the programme's push toward the 2029 World Cup. Captain Babalwa Latsha is one of three players over 40 caps, with a further eight sitting between 30 and 40. September noted the squad also carries players on fewer than 10 caps as part of a deliberate pipeline strategy.
Speaking after the squad's final training session in Stellenbosch on Friday, September pointed to the squad's depth of preparation: "We have been building towards this tour for a while now, first with the introduction of new players at the Rugby Africa Women's Cup, then the USA incoming tests, the tour to Fiji, and last weekend's match against the Black Ferns."
The Springbok Women have won six of their eight tests in 2026. The tour opens against Wales in Cardiff on 18 September, followed by Italy in Pordenone on 26 September and Spain in Seville on 4 October. The squad returns home for a two-test series against Ireland in Cape Town on 24 and 31 October.
The squad departs Cape Town on Saturday.