Barbarians coach Robbie Deans has reportedly approached former Sharks fly-half Curwin Bosch to represent the invitational side against the Springboks in Cape Town on 28 June.
Bosch, a two-cap Springbok, is enjoying a new lease of life in France’s second division with Brive. According to Rapport, Bosch has been playing with renewed freedom since leaving the Sharks at the end of the 2023 season and is on track to feature against the Boks.
Last week, Deans announced the first wave of his star-studded squad, which includes Ireland veterans Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, as well as former All Blacks captain Sam Cane.
PLAYER NEWS 🗞️
Three stars confirmed for our match v @Springboks 🇿🇦
Peter O’Mahony ☘️
Sam Cane 🇳🇿
Conor Murray ☘️ #Baabaas pic.twitter.com/p7bPFytVBA— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) May 22, 2025
Now 27, Bosch played 155 matches for the Sharks across all competitions between 2016 and 2023. He earned his first Springbok cap in 2017 in a Test against Argentina in Gqeberha—his hometown and the city where he attended Grey High School. His second and final appearance came in 2018, when Rassie Erasmus selected him for a friendly against Wales in Washington.
Bosch joined the Sharks straight out of school and remained with the Durban-based franchise until his move to France last year. He describes the transition as the best decision he could have made.
“It’s a new environment. I had put a lot of pressure on myself to make the Springbok squad, and that was my only goal,” Bosch explained. “It was something I thought about every day. I tried to become a perfect rugby player.”
“I wanted to do everything right, but in the process, I started doing less, because I wanted to be perfect,” he added.
“It will always be a dream to play for the Boks, but it’s good that I took myself out of that South African environment. In France, I’m just playing rugby again and not overthinking everything.”
Bosch has helped Brive to a strong campaign, with 20 wins from 30 matches. The club now prepares to host Montauban in next weekend’s Pro D2 semi-finals.
“I have a lot of confidence, and the team has also done well. It’s the first time in a long while that I’ve been so comfortable with my own game,” Bosch said.
