Scarlets hooker Marnus van der Merwe is one of 26 players invited by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus to a virtual Springbok alignment camp next month.
The group, mainly made up of players outside of South Africa, as well as some talented youngsters and injured players, will meet on Wednesday, March 27.
Marnus has enjoyed an outstanding first season at Parc y Scarlets following his move from the Toyota Cheetahs. He will be joined in the camp by the likes of World Cup winners Faf de Klerk, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Handre Pollard and Leinster’s RG Snyman.
Erasmus along with his assistant coaches and management team will host two virtual sessions on the day – one with the Japanese-based players and the other with the players playing in the northern hemisphere and domestically – to accommodate their respective time zones.
“It is vital for us that all the players on our radar are exposed to our plans and goals for the season, so we intend to replicate our presentations to the group in Cape Town with these players, so everyone is on the same page as we embark on this challenging season,” said Erasmus.
“With a wide group of players invited to the respective alignment camps, we are excited to grow our player base and expose all these individuals to the national structures, as well as to explain what our expectations are of them for the forthcoming season.
Players invited to the virtual Springbok alignment camps (in alphabetical order): Kurt-Lee Arendse (Dynaboars), Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager (both Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Dan du Preez, Jean-Luc du Preez (both Sale Sharks), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (Montpellier), Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Trevor Nyakane (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Siya Masuku (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Jonathan Roche (DHL Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Nico Steyn (Emirates Lions), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).