Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has called up 26 players, excluding Elton Jantjies, for a three-day training camp in Stellenbosch to start their preparations for the outgoing tour to the northern hemisphere on Sunday.

Nienaber called 17 players based in South Africa and nine who are plying their trade in Japan, and there is no place for Jantjies who was sent home from the Springbok squad in Buenos Aires.

All 26 players formed part of Nienaber’s squads that participated in the 2-1 series against Wales and the Castle Lager Rugby Championship where they finished second behind New Zealand.

They will be in the camp until October 26, with a few of the players set to return to their teams for Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) duty a few days later.

Canan Moodie, who is nursing a hamstring injury, has been invited to the camp so the medical team will assess the extent of his injury, especially with Nienaber and Mzwandile Stick, who will coach the South African “A” team under the guidance of SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, set to announce a group of 54 players for the tour.

The Springboks will play four Tests on consecutive Saturdays next month against Ireland in Dublin on November 5, France in Marseille on November 12, Italy in Genoa on November 19 and England in London on November 26.

The SA “A” team will play two midweek matches against Munster on November 10 and the Bristol Bears a week later.

The Springbok and SA “A” touring squads will be named on October 28 with the Bok squad set to gather in Dublin on October 30.

A further 20 SA “A” players are set to depart for Ireland a week later on November 5 to begin their preparations for the clash against Munster in Cork, where they will be joined by a few players from the initial 34-man touring squad for the two SA “A” matches.

Nienaber was excited about the camp and said it would serve the dual purpose of giving the players valuable training time after a few weeks of individual training programmes, while simultaneously getting the players back into the Springbok structures and systems with a tough tour ahead, featuring the top two teams in the world in Ireland and France.

“We are departing for the year-end tour next week Saturday, so it is vital that we get the players back into our structures and our usual training programme so they are raring to go by the time we depart for Ireland,” said Nienaber.

“There are some players who didn’t get much game time in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and who will benefit immensely from the additional game time next week in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, while it is important for the Japanese-based players to get back to national training.

“It may be a short camp, but we have clear objectives and we know what boxes we need to tick as we look forward to what is going to be a challenging year-end tour.

“We are facing the No 1 and No 2 teams in the world in Ireland and France, and then we line up against Italy and England, both of whom will test us to the limit, so the sooner we get into the swing of things, the better.”

Nienaber revealed the Japanese-based players have been granted permission to participate in the closing Test of the tour against England, which falls outside the international Test window, and thanked the clubs for assisting the Springboks’ cause less than a year out from the Rugby World Cup in France.

“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Japanese clubs for their co-operation in granting us permission to select the national players plying their trade in Japan for the England Test.

“We said from the start of the season we need to use every opportunity to build momentum and squad depth with an eye on the World Cup next year, and that match plays a vital role in this process as England will enter the international spectacle as one of the top teams to watch.”

The England and France-based players in the touring squad will be released to their respective clubs after the Italy Test.

 Springboks Stellenbosch Training Camp:

Props: Thomas du Toit (Cell C Sharks), Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe (both DHL Stormers), Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks)

Hookers: Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks)

Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers)

Loose Forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Siya Kolisi (Cell C Sharks), Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)

Utility Forwards: Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)

Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles), Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks)

Flyhalf: Johan Goosen (Vodacom Bulls)

Centres: Jesse Kriel (Yokohama Canon Eagles), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)

Outside Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz), Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Sbu Nkosi (Vodacom Bulls)

Utility back: Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)