Le Roux to train with Boks in Durban

Springbok fullback Willie le Roux will join the national squad in Durban on Sunday and train with the team until Wednesday as they prepare to face Argentina in their penultimate Castle Lager Rugby Championship match at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus named a squad of 33 players for their two closing matches of the competition against the Pumas – the second of which will take place at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday 4 October – but with the team set to switch into full throttle at training this week, he called up Le Roux to assist in their preparations.

The latest Springbok centurion will return to the Vodacom Bulls following the conclusion of the team’s main training block on Wednesday, making him available for selection for the Pretoria side’s opening Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against the Ospreys at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (at 2pm).

“Willie is a member of our wider squad and we feel it will benefit us to have him train with us early in the week,” said Erasmus.

“We try to train the way we play and by having him in camp it will allow us to improve the quality of our training sessions ahead of this vital match.

“Every point will count in the next two games if we want to win the competition, so it’s essential that we get the most out of our training time to be as sharp as possible when we take the field.”

Erasmus added: “I’d like to thank Johan Ackermann and the Vodacom Bulls for releasing him to train with us and we wish them and the other South African teams the best of luck for the opening round of the Vodacom URC.”

The Boks assembled in Durban last week Thursday to begin their preparations for Saturday’s encounter and had training sessions on Friday and Saturday to get the wheels in motion following their return from New Zealand a week ago.

The Springboks are currently in second position on the Castle Lager Rugby Championship standings on 10 points, the same amount of log points as the third-placed All Blacks following their record 43-10 victory against their old foes in Wellington. The Wallabies top the table on 11 points, with the fourth-placed Pumas on nine points, meaning the title race is wide open going into the closing two rounds.

Springbok squad for the Argentina leg of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship

Forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).

Backs: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).