Rassie Erasmus has named a Springbok squad that reads like a rugby fairytale — and a horror story rolled into one.
For Saturday's clash against the Barbarians in Gqeberha, the coach has picked 20-year-old lock Riley Norton to start. Norton is still a schoolboy product from Paul Roos Gymnasium, but he already captains the Junior Boks and led them to their first U20 World Championship since 2012 last year. He also holds SA Schools colours in both rugby and cricket — a double achieved by only 15 players in history.
But Norton's rise isn't the most dramatic story in this team. That belongs to tighthead prop Carlu Sadie.
In January 2025, Sadie snapped a ligament between his C1 and C2 vertebrae during a scrum against Lyon. A specialist told him he was 2mm from death. Surgeons fixed two screws into his neck and took bone from his hip. The procedure had a 50-50 survival chance.
While recovering, Sadie lost his Bulls contract. His wife was alone in an unfurnished Pretoria house as the deal collapsed. Then Bordeaux president Laurent Marti picked him up and supported his rehab. Eight months after the injury, Sadie was back playing. He has since started the Champions Cup final against Leinster and helped Bordeaux win back-to-back European titles.
Now he starts at tighthead for the Springboks. The door opened when Asenathi Ntlabakanye got an 18-month doping ban.
Another debutant is flank Paul de Villiers. The 23-year-old Stormers flank modelled his game on Heinrich Brüssow, the fetcher who tormented the British and Irish Lions in 2009. De Villiers stands 1.80m and weighs 99kg — same as Brüssow at his peak. He finished the 2025-26 United Rugby Championship with 19 turnovers, second only to Bulls flank Jeandre Rudolph. But he insists he's more than just a breakdown specialist. “I hope that isn't the only thing I contribute,” he said on Monday.
Then there's 19-year-old flyhalf Vusi Moyo on the bench. The Sharks youngster starred in South Africa’s Junior World Championship win in Italy in 2025 and made his URC debut against Zebre late last season. With Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu out with a serious ankle injury, Moyo gets a shot. Handré Pollard and Manie Libbok remain the senior flyhalf options, but Erasmus is clearly watching the next generation.
“He’s definitely a guy who’s got a maturity about him coming into the Springbok setup,” Erasmus said of Norton. “That’s why he’s such a great leader for the Junior Boks.”
The full match-day squad: Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, André Esterhuizen, Edwill van der Merwe, Quan Horn, Grant Williams, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (c), Franco Mostert, Riley Norton, Carlü Sadie, André-Hugo Venter, Ox Nché. Bench: JJ Kotze, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, Evan Roos, Faf de Klerk, Vusi Moyo.
This isn't a B-team. It's a statement. Erasmus has picked young talent with serious stories, and given them the stage to prove they belong.