South Africa take on the Barbarians at Nelson Mandela Bay with five uncapped players — Riley Norton, Carlu Sadie, JJ Kotze, Paul de Villiers and Vusi Moyo — in the matchday 23.
South Africa face the Barbarians at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium with a squad featuring 18 capped internationals and five uncapped players across the matchday 23.
The two uncapped players in the starting XV are lock Riley Norton, who captains the Junior Springboks, and prop Carlu Sadie. Among the replacements, hooker JJ Kotze, loose forward Paul de Villiers and SA U20 flyhalf Vusi Moyo are all yet to earn their first Test caps.
The Springboks face the Barbarians and SA 'A' take on Zimbabwe in a double-header at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, with Andre Esterhuizen backing Quan Horn's shift to flyhalf and teenager Luan Giliomee set for his third green-and-gold environment of the year.
Contepomi argues the Boks' real danger lies in their evolving balance between forward dominance and expansive attack — and flags sustained possession as the best way to exploit their defence.
Siya Kolisi insists the Springboks are treating Saturday's Barbarians match in Gqeberha as a full Test match, with squad positions at stake and a difficult pre-season camp behind them.
Warrick Gelant, the only Springbok in the Barbarians squad for the June 20 clash against South Africa in Gqeberha, says he will not treat the match as a Bok trial, insisting the experience with the invitational side stands on its own merits.
Erasmus names his first Springbok matchday 23 of 2026 on Tuesday ahead of the Gqeberha double-header, where SA A face Zimbabwe at 12:00 SAST before the Boks take on the Barbarians at 15:00 SAST on Saturday, 20 June.