Springboks and Wallabies ring in the new faces for June internationals

Alex Broun 19:53 30/05/2018
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  • Tom Banks was impressive against the Bulls.

    Both South Africa and Australia have sprung surprises when announcing their squads for the June internationals.

    New Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus included 17 uncapped players in his enlarged squad of 43 to take on Wales in Washington DC this weekend and England in three home Tests.

    He has also named a new skipper in Stormers flanker Siya Kolisi who becomes South Africa’s first black captain.

    While Wallabies boss Michael Cheika has picked five new caps in his squad of 32 to take on Six Nations Champions Ireland, including two Brumbies bolters wing/fullback Tom Banks and hooker Folau Fainga’a, who is currently suspended for a heabdutt.

    “Folau’s really done well,” Cheika said of the 23-year-old. “He’s got a good bit of swagger, I like his attitude and I think he’ll take an opportunity with both hands.

    “It’s going to be pretty exciting to see two new lads (Fainga’a and the Reds Brandon Paenga-Amosa) and one (Rebels Jordan Uelese) who’s only got a couple of games under his belt going at it.

    “They’ve all performed really well in Super Rugby.

    Banks, meanwhile, has leapfrogged the likes of Henry Speight, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Cam Clark and Izaia Perese to earn a squad spot.

    “Tom showed a little bit last year, but I think he’s been much more consistent this year,” Cheika said of the 23-year-old.

    “He’s got some genuine attacking ability, genuine pace and he backs himself and I like that about him.

    “That’s what won him the spot in the team.”

    Melbourne-born Crusaders loose forward Pete Samu — who has signed with the Brumbies for the 2019 and 2020 seasons — was not included.

    Erasmus said it was “good to see how our exciting young players have grabbed their opportunities for their franchises in the last couple of months.”

    “But we also know how important experience is at Test level, so we thought long and hard about which players to pull in form abroad, and in the end we only settled on five (Bismarck du Plessis, Frans Steyn, Duane Vermeulen, Faf du Plessis and Willie Le Roux) who we thought consistently performed well for their clubs in the tough English and French competitions.

    “I am confident that we have a strong group of players from which we will be able to select a very competitive team for each of the four Test matches in June.”

    SPRINGBOKS

    Forwards (24): N Carr, B du Plessis, D du Preez, JL du Preez, P-Steph du Toit, T du Toit*, J Jenkins*, S Kitshoff, S Kolisi ©, W Louw, F Malherbe, B Mbonambi, O Mohojé, F Mostert, T Mtawarira, O Nche*, S Notshe*, T Nyakane, M Orie*, C Ralepelle, K Smith*, RG Snyman*, A van der Merwe*, D Vermeulen

    Backs (19): L Am, C Bosch, D de Allende, F de Klerk, R du Preez*, A Dyantyi*, A Esterhuizen*, W Gelant, T Ismaiel*, E Jantjies, J Kriel, W le Roux, M Mapimpi*, S Nkosi*, E Papier*, H Pollard, F Steyn, I van Zyl*, C Wright*

    WALLABIES

    Forwards (17): A Alaalatoa, R Arnold, A Coleman, F Fainga’a*, N Hanigan, M Hooper ©, S Kepu, B Paenga-Amosa*, D Pocock, T Robertson, R Simmons, S Sio, I Rodda, C Timu, L Tui, T Tupou, J Uelese

    Backs (15): T Banks*, K Beale, I Folau, B Foley (vc), W Genia (vc), D Haylett-Petty, R Hodge, S Kerevi, M Koroibete, T Kuridrani, J Maddocks*, S Naivalu, N Phipps, J Powell, C Rona.

    *denotes uncapped player

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