Less than a year after making his Springbok debut at Wembley, Zach Porthen has evolved into one of South African rugby’s brightest front-row prospects.

The 22-year-old will earn his third Test cap from the bench against England on Saturday, a selection that underlines just how quickly he has climbed the Springbok ranks.

When Porthen made his international debut against Japan last October, he became the youngest prop to represent the Springboks in the professional era.

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Springbok team to face England in Johannesburg:
15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 49 caps, 71 pts (7t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
14 Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath*) – 49 caps, 126 pts (21t, 3c, 5p)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 87 caps, 100 pts (20t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 97 caps, 55 pts (11t)
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls*) – 30 caps, 115 pts (23t)
10 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 28 caps, 145 pts (2t, 48c, 13p)
9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks*) – 28 caps, 35 pts (7t)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 44 caps, 15 pts (3t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 95 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks*) – 103 caps, 70 pts (14t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls*) – 18 caps, 5 pts (1t)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 141 caps, 45 pts (9t)
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath*) – 32 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 87 caps, 130 pts (26t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 47 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Zach Porthen (DHL Stormers) – 3 caps, 0 pts
19 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 33 caps, 20 pts (4t)
20 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 1 cap, 0 pts
21 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 50 caps, 95 pts (19t)
22 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 29 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 23 caps, 45 pts (9t)

Some new coaches for the Currie Cup, all the best to them and the team.

I’ll leave my personal opinion at the door.

2027 Stormers Rugby Institute intake

Kyle Burger – Oakdale- (Loosehead prop)
Adrian Smith – Oakdale (Hooker)
Juvan Burden – Stellenberg – (Lock)
Bernhardt Schulze – Paarl Gim – (Lock)
Hendre van Zyl – Paarl Gim – (Loose forward)
Jacobus de Villiers – Oakdale – (Loose forward) (Brother of Paul de Villiers)
Mickyle Booise – Paarl Gim – (Scrumhalf)
Ethan van Biljon – Stellenberg – (Flyhalf/Fullback)
Achmat Behardien – WBHS – (Flyhalf)
Ethan Barker – Paarl Gim – (Centre)
Tiaan Basson – Paul Roos – (Centre)
Anesu Kuzonyei – Northwood – (Wing)
Lamla Mgedezi – Grey College – (Fullback)

Its an interesting discussion. If you were in the shoes of the young lads, where would you prefer being right now?

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Playing in a world championship with an awesome shot of winning the tournament and playing a starring role in it. Or being in the Springbok squad (which is awesome because the Boks are the number 1 team in the world) but probably unlikely to get a lot of game time, if any at all.

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Also what's better for their own development? I see a lot of debate online since the squads were announced and from what I've seen,, there doesn't seem to be consensus on this one.

Props: Thomas du Toit (Bath), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Ntuthuko Mchunu (DHL Stormers), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers), Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Begles), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh).

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Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers).

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Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Ruben van Heerden (DHL Stormers).

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Loose forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon (both DHL Stormers), Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Evan Roos (DHL Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).

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Utility forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Riley Norton (DHL Stormers), Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Vodacom Bulls).

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Scrumhalves: Embrose Papier (Vodacom Bulls), Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).

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Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Vusi Moyo (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls).

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Centres: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).

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Outside and utility backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Quan Horn (Fidelity Securedrive Lions), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Edwill van der Merwe, Jaco Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).

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Source

Stormers inside centre Dan du Plessis is leaving Cape Town this summer to play in the Top 14 and has signed a deal with back-to-back Champions Cup winners Bordeaux-Bègles on Friday.

As much as I hate the Bulls (okay mostly the die hard supporters), they still a South African team playing against an Irish team, so good luck to them.