Sharks utility back Zekhethelo Siyaya will get his first taste of the Springbok environment.

• Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named a 40-man squad for an alignment camp in Cape Town next week.
• There are 10 uncapped players in a squad featuring 25 forwards and 15 backs.
• Lions loose forward Sibabalwe Mahashe and Sharks fullback/flyhalf Zekhethelo Siyaya will attend their first Springbok camp.
• For more news on the Springboks, visit our dedicated section.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Wednesday named a 40-man squad for the year’s second in-person alignment camp, scheduled to take place in Cape Town next week.

The camp squad - which comprises 25 forwards and 15 backs - will run from Tuesday to Thursday (19-21 May).

The squad includes 10 uncapped players, namely Paul de Villiers, Bathobele Hlekani, Francke Horn, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Riley Norton, Haashim Pead, Zekhethelo Siyaya, Emmanuel Tshituka, Henco van Wyk and Jaco Williams.

Lions loose forward Mahashe and Sharks fullback/flyhalf Siyaya will attend their first Springbok camp.

The likes of Horn, Van Wyk, Embrose Papier and Andre-Hugo Venter, who have all attended alignment camps in the past, have also been recalled.

“This is an exciting group of players, and it’s been pleasing to see them make their presence felt in the United Rugby Championship and during their teams’ Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup campaigns this season,” Erasmus said in a statement.

“This camp will be a good opportunity to expose those invited to our setup and the standards expected of the national coaches.

“We’re looking forward to involving Sibabalwe, Zekhethelo, Andre, Embrose, Francke and Henco at this camp as we continue to build our squad depth.”

Erasmus said there were several players not currently fit to play and that they were not out of the reckoning.

“We look forward to seeing them back in action in the near future, knowing they have a good sense of how the team operates and what will be expected of them when they return.”

Regarding the objectives of the camp, Erasmus added: “It is to expose these players to our environment, our standards, and the way we operate.

“The players who will not be present, whether through injury or workload, remain in our plans, and each one of them is on his own path with his own set of timelines.

“This week will give us the chance to align those who are fit and firing now with the way we want to operate, so that when an opportunity arises either this year or further down the line, they are ready to step up and deliver at international level.”

SA Rugby said a second virtual alignment camp will be hosted following the conclusion of next week’s one.

The South African international season will start with a double-header in Gqeberha on Saturday, 20 June. The Boks will tackle the Barbarians and the SA A team will entertain Rugby World Cup-bound Zimbabwe in a curtain-raiser.

The world champions will play home matches in the Nations Championship - against England in Johannesburg (4 July), Scotland in Pretoria (11 July), and Wales in Durban (18 July).

They will then duel Argentina in Buenos Aires (8 August) and the All Blacks in four Tests in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in August and September.

An away Test against the Wallabies in Australia (27 September) follows, before the second leg of the Nations Championship in Europe, with Tests against Italy (7 November), France (13 November) and Ireland (21 November), ahead of the Finals Weekend in London (27 to 29 November).