Four uncapped players will feature in a Springbok matchday 23 led by Siya Kolisi for Saturday’s clash against the Barbarians at Cape Town Stadium.

Scrum anchor Asenathi Ntlabakanye and flanker Vincent Tshituka start in a seasoned Bok pack, with hooker Marnus van der Merwe and tighthead prop Neethling Fouche among the replacements for a 2025 opener being treated with full Test-match intensity by the back-to-back world champions.

The return of World Cup winner Lood de Jager headlines the tight five, with the lock set to earn his first cap since July 2023.

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Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse make up the back three, while Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel start in midfield. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morne van den Berg form the halfback axis.

Only one Vodacom Bulls player – Jan-Hendrik Wessels – is included after the URC final two weeks ago, while Pieter-Steph du Toit rejoins the squad after injury.

The bench features five forwards – Van der Merwe, Fouche, Wessels, Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith – and three backs in Cobus Reinach, Manie Libbok and Andre Esterhuizen.

The Barbarians fixture serves as a springboard into three July Tests against Italy (Pretoria and Gqeberha) and Georgia (Nelspruit).

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 Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 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.

Photo: @Springboks/X