GO BOKKE!

IT’S cold in the Mother City, but come tomorrow night at 5.10pm there promises to be some vuurwarm action at Cape Town Stadium where the Springboks will tackle the Barbarians. 

The match is not an official test match, meaning players won’t get international caps. That doesn’t mean that they won’t play like there’s not tomorrow. 

As first-time Springbok replacement hooker Marnus van der Merwe, 28, said about the opportunity: “It’s an honour to be here. I’ve been praying for this every day, so it’s a blessing and it’s not something I’m taking lightly.

“It has been great to have players like Bongi [Mbonambi] and Malcolm [Marx] to learn from, and they, and the rest of the team, have been very helpful in getting me settled. I think I asked Bongi about 20 questions the first day of camp.”

Van der Merwe is one of four uncapped players in the matchday squad, with prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and flanker Vincent Tshituka starting, while prop Neethling Fouche will sit next to him on the wood. 

The match is South Africa’s first of the season, with captain Siya Kolisi and his teammates playing their first international of 2025 against Italy at Loftus Versfeld next week. 

Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Vincent Thsituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt.), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.