Willemse and Mostert among Rugby World Cup winners back for Springboks’ end-of-year European tour

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Rugby World Cup winners Franco Mostert, RG Snyman, Damian Willemse and Andre Esterhuizen returned to South Africa’s squad after injuries for the end-of-year European tour.

The quartet missed the recently completed Rugby Championship, which the world champion Springboks won for the first time since 2019.

For Willemse, who has recovered from a shoulder injury, it marks his first call-up to a Boks squad since last year’s World Cup final against New Zealand. He has missed all 10 of the team’s tests in 2024.

Mostert, a lock who started the World Cup final along with Willemse, was back from a broken leg sustained against Ireland in July to also make a 34-man squad named by coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday.

Prop Steven Kitshoff (neck) and lock Lood de Jager (shoulder) were among those to miss out through injury.

The South Africans will depart on Sunday for a training camp in the Channel Islands ahead of test matches against Scotland in Edinburgh on Nov. 10, England at Twickenham on Nov. 16 and Wales in Cardiff on Nov. 23.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby