World champion South Africa will be without a string of leading players, including vice-captain Victor Matfield, for their first two games of the Tri-Nations.

Matfield was one of 21 players who were not considered for the games in Australia and New Zealand because of injury.

Instead, six uncapped players were named in Friday's 27-man squad to face the Wallabies in Sydney on July 23 and title holders the All Blacks in Wellington a week later.

John Smit will captain the squad, but senior internationals Matfield, Schalk Burger, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Bismarck du Plessis, Bryan Habana and Bakkies Botha were all missing from the group after the South African Rugby Union said they were among a massive 21 squad members who are injured.

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