Springbok loose forward Pieter Steph du Toit during the World Cup final against New Zealand in Paris in October. (Franco Arland/Getty Images)

• Pieter-Steph du Toit will captain the Springboks in Saturday’s Test against Wales in London.
• The Bok match-day squad features four uncapped players.
• Saturday’s match at Twickenham kicks off at 15:00 (SA time).
• For more news on the Springboks, visit our dedicated section.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named his first team of the 2024 season for Saturday’s Test against Wales at Twickenham.

Flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit will captain the Springboks in what will be their first Test since winning the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand last October.

This will only be the second time Du Toit captains the Springboks, having previously led the team against Wales in Washington in 2018 – a Test the Boks lost 22-20.

There are also four uncapped players in the Bok 23-man line-up, with Lions duo – flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse and winger Edwill van der Merwe – to start, and Stormers pair – lock Ben-Jason Dixon and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – to feature on the bench.

The Boks also welcome back experienced hooker Malcolm Marx, who suffered a knee injury at training in the early stages of the World Cup in France.

Elsewhere, prop Vincent Koch will play his 50th Test while Erasmus opted for a five-three forwards-backs split on the bench. The bench includes four World Cup winners – Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Grant Williams, and Damian de Allende.

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“This is an exciting playing squad and travelling group, and we are looking forward to seeing how the uncapped players step up at top international level and how we execute what we’ve been working on at training in the last few days and at the alignment camps,” said Erasmus.

“The likes of Edwill, Jordan, Ben-Jason, and Sacha have really impressed us at training, and we believe they have what it takes to make their presence felt against a quality team such as Wales.

“They will be surrounded by several experienced campaigners – some of whom are Rugby World Cup winners – so they will have enough guidance on the field to fulfil their roles even when the pressure is on. It is equally exciting for us to see players such as Aphelele (Fassi), Evan (Roos), Ntuthuko (Mchunu), and Salmaan (Moerat) back in the green in gold after earning their stripes in the last few seasons.”

The Boks added that 30 players will travel to London on Wednesday night, with those outside of the match-day squad being Manie Libbok (flyhalf), RG Snyman (lock), Neethling Fouche (prop), Phepsi Buthelezi (loose forward), Ethan Hooker (centre), Quan Horn (fullback), and Andre-Hugo Venter (hooker). 

With Snyman plying his trade in Ireland, he will make the short flight to London to join the squad following Munster’s exit from the URC in the semi-final last weekend against the Glasgow Warriors.

Saturday’s game at Twickenham, the home of England Rugby, will kick off at 15:00 (SA time).