My squad of 40 for Irish series

Rassie has said he will announce a squad of 35 to 40 tomorrow I have 50 names I can’t reduce to 40: 15. Fassi / Gelant 14/11. Kolbe / Arendse /Green / Edwill vd Merwe / Tambwe / Mapimpi 13/12. Am / Jessie Kriel / Moodie / de Allende / Esterhuizen / David Kriel / Hendrikse / Hooker 10. Pollard / Libbok / Sacha / Masuku 9. Faf / Williams / Papier / Nohamba / Jantjies 1/3. Ox / Gerhard Steenkamp / Malherbe / Thomas du Toit / Wilco Louw 2. Marx / Bongi / Dweba / Grobelaar /AH Venter 4/5. Etzebeth / RG Snyman/ Ruben v Heerden / Jason Jenkins / Ruan Vermaak / Moerat 6. Kolisi / Kwagga / Buthelezi 7. PSDT/ JL du Preez / Elrigh Louw / Ben Jason Dixon / Vincent Tsituka / Reinhardt Ludwig 8. Roos / Dan du Preez / Emmanuel Tsituka Not sure of the fitness status of Am, Kolbe and Moodie Willemse, Lood, Kitshoff and Hanekom are out injured and Wiese is banned

It’s my squad not Rassie’s - Gelant given his season would definitely be in my squad He is the closest thing we have to Willie Moz your take on most rugby players I take with a pinch of salt Imagine being ignorant enough to leave Thomas out after the season he has just had for Bath - wow

Well Moz before he left for Bath he was part of the Sharks frontrow of Ox, Bongi and himself where they completely dominated so I’m not sure how far back you are basing your call on but it’s way out of date Here is Thomas currently: Thomas du Toit makes ‘aspirations clear’ to Rassie Erasmus after missing out on Springboks’ World Cup success Bath prop Thomas du Toit alongside Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus. Bath prop Thomas du Toit alongside Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus. Thomas du Toit may have missed out on the Springboks Rugby World Cup but the in-form Bath prop is determined to get back in Rassie Erasmus’ squad. The 29-year-old was involved in the build-up to the global tournament, playing three matches in 2023, but the tighthead missed out on the final 33-man group. Since then, Du Toit has moved to England and enjoyed a remarkable campaign in the West Country, putting himself back in Test contention. New cycle There’s little doubt that with a new World Cup cycle started, the former Shark is likely to be a key component of the South Africa’s defence of their title. Whilst part of the squad in 2019, Du Toit missed out to Trevor Nyakane in 2023, but he admitted that he still places the Boks above anything else in his rugby ambitions. “I’ve made my aspirations clear. I’ll do anything to retain my jersey and there’s an exciting block of games this summer,” he told Planet Rugby. “I want to be involved and I know I’ve done everything in my power to get back, so I know that if they select me, it’s for the right reasons, but I also know if they don’t then there’s nothing more that I could do, and I’m entirely at comfort in that.” Springboks prop Thomas du Toit insists Bath’s ‘collective journey’ under ‘uplifting’ Johann van Graan won’t be defined by Premiership final Du Toit’s impressive work in the set-piece and has been allied by his simply ridiculous try-scoring antics this season. Since joining Bath at the beginning of the campaign, the prop has confounded tradition by becoming a scoring machine, snaring seven in the Premiership and a further four in Europe. That has taken his tally to a quite remarkable 11 from 25 appearances, a statistic that’s likely to have him expelled from the front-row union! For a man who scored just 12 in 150 games for the Sharks, there’s a question around why try-scoring has become synonymous with Du Toit and one that the big man relishes answering. ‘Explosive ability’ “Firstly, I’m not the only front-rower at Bath that’s done well crossing the whitewash this season,” Du Toit said. “Beno has a few, as does Tom Dunn and don’t forget Niall Annett scored a vital try on Saturday in the semi-final. “But the simple truth is that the coaching team identified that I had explosive ability in the close carry over one or two metres, and we worked on getting me, and others, with ball in hand in threatening positions. “It has been a positive plan to create a competitive advantage from the skills that the backroom staff identified and it’s certainly something I’m not complaining about. “We practice this quite a bit now – everyone has a role and sure, there’s an element of luck in being in the right place at the right time – but yes, the coaches asked me to work on it and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Malherbe for sure but we need to move on from Koch - he is 34 now. Wilco Louw is the obvious replacement for him but Thomas should be there as the 5th prop given he can play 1 & 3 The obvious 5 props should be Malherbe, Kitshoff, Ox, Wilco and Thomas Tough on Gerhard Steenkamp of the Bulls though but he is next in line by the next WC taking over from Kitshoff

It would be a pity if Thomas get’s excluded….Koch and Malherbe is still competent but we need to bring the younger props in…Kitsie is still there but not at his best….Ox , Wilco and Gerhard is Beast’s ….Carlu Sadie is another one besides Thomas, that is doing well overseas ….Mchunu did ok on Saturday, but how would he stand against a Tahg Furlong for example?

Yeah Sadie is an option behind Wilco & Thomas - I like young Hanro Jacobs at the Sharks and Klopper at the Bulls - both good young tightheads. Ntlabakayne could be great but he needs to get into shape Mchunu is good we need to see more of him in the scrums - he has looked solid off the bench at scrum time but he seldom gets to start We need some young looseheads coming through. Matanzima is good but he is 26 and Boan Venter at Edinburgh is good but is 27

Still makes no sense why Eben was not captain against Wales

Disagree he has been good as Bok captain as he has as the Sharks captain PSDT is far to quiet to be a captain, he is not a leader at all Etzebeth oozes leadership - a man to follow

I think we might see Rassie picking Trevor and Thomas , together with Frans , Vincent and Ox…Locks Eben, RG, you and Uncle Mikes Favourite, Mostert : ) hopefully Ruben and Moerat…..hopefully no Marvin Orie….I would love to see Wilco there but I am not sure….Loose trio Pieter, Roos, Ben , Kwagga , van Staden , Kollisi and Elrigh Louw….Eben is a better Captain and because of his experience, he will get it before Pieter, if Siya is not available….we might see David Kriel there hopefully….it will be interesting to see who actually gets the nod.