Baa-Baas opt for SA grunt

Six South African forwards have been called up to the Barbarians side to face Australia on 1 November at Twickenham.

Barbarians coach John Kirwan has beefed up his forward resources by selecting a number of former and potential Springboks.

Coenie Oosthuizen, CJ van der Linde, Thomas du Toit and former England prop Matt Stevens will provide him with plenty of depth in the front row, while Heinrich Brüssow, Michael Rhodes and Jacques Botes have also received calls from the prestigious club side.

The selection of the 19-year-old Du Toit is particularly surprising given that he was still playing school rugby less than a year ago.

Both Brüssow and Oosthuizen have fallen out of favour with the Springbok selectors in recent times, and will get a chance to show what they are capable of on the international stage once again.

The only other player to be named for the match is Australian wing Nick Cummins, who is ineligible for Wallabies selection after moving to Japan. The rest of the squad will be named in due course.

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