DHL Western Province No 8 Duane Vermeulen and Toyota Free State Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen are the two uncapped players that have been added to the Springbok squad for the Australasian leg of The Castle Rugby Championship.
The squad of 28 for Tests against Australia in Perth (September 8) and New Zealand in Dunedin (September 15), was finalised on Wednesday.
Apart from the inclusion of Vermeulen and Goosen, there were recalls for DHL Western Province midfielder Juan de Jongh as well as loose forward Francois Louw, who has captained Bath in England.
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De Jongh was part of the squad for the first Test against Argentina in Cape Town while it will be Louw’s first involvement with the Springboks since last year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has confidence in the squad that has been selected, even though injuries, unavailability and retirement have robbed the Springboks of more than 800 Test caps worth of experience.
“We were not happy with our performance in Mendoza and we are making no excuses for what happened there, but we take full responsibility and have to look forward and get ready for our next tough match, against Australia in Perth,” said Meyer.
“Untimely injuries to Bismarck du Plessis, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Pierre Spies, JP Pietersen and Bjorn Basson have already hit us hard in the past few weeks. This again provides opportunities for other players to put up their hands.
“We were very keen to give Siya Kolisi an opportunity on this tour, but he is also out injured, alongside a list of other injured or unavailable forwards that include Gurthrö Steenkamp, Heinrich Brüssow, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Ryan Kankowski.”
Commenting on the four new players in the squad, Meyer said: “Injuries meant we could not use Duane and Johan earlier in the season, but both have played Absa Currie Cup rugby since their return and after consultation with their respective provincial medical teams, we’re confident that they are ready to travel with us.
“While Duane and Johan are medically fit, their provincial coaches felt it necessary that they get more game time in the Absa Currie Cup this weekend, but as we don’t have a lot of time to prepare and we need as much time with them as possible to get them used to our structures and game plans, the decision was taken to select them for the tour.
“I regard both of them as world class rugby players. If it wasn’t for injuries, Duane would have been a Springbok long ago. I also believe Johan has a long career ahead of him at Test match level and we will expose him when and how we feel it will benefit the player and the team best.
“Both Juan and Francois played at the Rugby World Cup last year and are experienced players. Juan covers both positions in the midfield and we opted for Francois because he is a specialist openside flanker, in the absence of Schalk, Heinrich and Siya, that can cover blindside and No 8 as well, while he is also a very useful option in the lineout.
“I’m also very excited with the quality of young talent coming through – Eben, Marcell and Johan are all still Under-21 and that bodes well for the future of Springbok rugby.”
The Springbok squad will assemble in Johannesburg on Thursday and is scheduled to depart for Perth on Saturday evening.
The Springbok squad for the Australasian leg of the Rugby Championship is:
| Name | Province | Position | Test Caps |
| Willem Alberts | The Sharks | Loose forward | 13 |
| Andries Bekker | DHL Western Province | Lock | 26 |
| Craig Burden | The Sharks | Hooker | 0 |
| Pat Cilliers | MTN Golden Lions | Prop | 2 |
| Marcell Coetzee | The Sharks | Loose forward | 5 |
| Juan de Jongh | DHL Western Province | Centre | 10 |
| Jean de Villiers (captain) | DHL Western Province | Centre | 77 |
| Jannie du Plessis | The Sharks | Prop | 35 |
| Eben Etzebeth | DHL Western Province | Lock | 5 |
| Johan Goosen | Toyota FS Cheetahs | Flyhalf | 0 |
| Dean Greyling | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Prop | 2 |
| Bryan Habana | DHL Western Province | Wing | 79 |
| Francois Hougaard | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Scrumhalf | 20 |
| Zane Kirchner | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Fullback | 17 |
| Juandré Kruger | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Lock | 3 |
| Pat Lambie | The Sharks | Fullback / Flyhalf | 13 |
| Tiaan Liebenberg | DHL Western Province | Hooker | 1 |
| Francois Louw | Bath, England | Loose forward | 10 |
| Tendai Mtawarira | The Sharks | Prop | 37 |
| Lwazi Mvovo | The Sharks | Wing | 6 |
| Ruan Pienaar | Ulster, N-Ireland | Scrumhalf | 56 |
| Jacques Potgieter | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Loose forward | 3 |
| Frans Steyn | The Sharks | Centre | 51 |
| Morné Steyn | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Flyhalf | 39 |
| Adriaan Strauss | Toyota FS Cheetahs | Hooker | 14 |
| Flip van der Merwe | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Lock | 16 |
| Jano Vermaak | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Scrumhalf | 0 |
| Duane Vermeulen | DHL Western Province | Loose forward | 0 |
I’m glad Francois Louw is back in the mix for the loosies…
Duane Vermeulen needed at least 1 more Currie Cup game, I feel… pity he could not play for WP on Saturday first before joining up with the Bok squad.
Johan Goosen in the same boat as Duane, needed in my opinion at least 2 more Currie Cup games, if not more… and Elton Jantjies is unlucky to miss out in favour of Goosen.
Glad that Heyneke made the swap between Juan de Jongh and JJ Engelbrecht, I think that choice is definately more astute.
With the 2 new loosies, I feel the Springboks can definately field a more competative loosie combo and loosie on the bench.
Now Heyneke must just play it clever in his selections… leave out Bekker and play Juandré Kruger in stead, leave out Jacques Potgieter and play Francois Louw at openside, Willem Alberts at Blindside, with Marcell Coetzee at No 8 (think it is 1 game too early for Duane Vermeulen).
In addition I hope we see Ruan Pienaar as starting scrummie, moving Francois Hougaard to left wing in place of Lwazi Mvovo and switching Pat Lambie from the bench to starting fullback (relegating Kirchner to the bench).
Of course, apart from the selection changes I want to see less needless kicking and more attention to the breakdowns….. and more ball-in-hand play!
The Wallabies are vulnerable, specially without Pocock at the breakdowns…. and after all the All blacks have shown us the ball-in-hand blueprint, something the Bokke were also good at in stages of the first 2 England Tests (1 half of each Test).
i’m sure ms. sophie bekakked herself!!
3 @ maljan_vaaljan_dieboksupporter!:
Huh?
ms. sophie man!! allistair!! toetie!!
…
james: “same as last year ms. sophie?”
ms. sophie: “same as every year james!”
(from dinner for one)
5 @ maljan_vaaljan_dieboksupporter!:
Ahhhh… that Dinner for One is kaksnaaks….
gbbj @ 6
jip lag my elke keer ñ papie as ek dit sien!!
..
btw
gesien dat iemand op news24 daai naam vir allistair gegee het (agv dieselfde resultate jaar na jaar) en ek kan deesdae nie anders as om na haar (ok, hom) te verwys as ms. sophie nie!!
7 @ maljan_vaaljan_dieboksupporter!:
Wat dink jy van die veranderinge aan die Bok groep?
man, ek dink vermeulen, goosen se insluiting is bietjie vroeg. sien dat hougaardt ook nog ingesluit word uitsluitlik as scrumhalf (dink hy moet vir eers eerder concentrate op wing). morné steyn? dink nie hy moes op huidige vorm in daai squad gewees het nie, maar omdat hm niemand anders in die engeland reeks daar speelkans gegee het nie, moet ons seker maar vir eers vrede maak daarmee dat hy vir ten minste die hele van hierdie reeks die 10 trui gaan dra.
8 Sharks
8 Blue Bulls
7 WP
2 Free State Cheetahs
1 Lion
2 Overseas players (Bath & Ulster)
I have a problem with only 3 Bok squad players…. Jacques Potgieter, Jano Vermaak & Johan Goosen.
I would have much rather opted for CJ Stander in place of Jacques Potgieter
I would have opted for Sarel Pretorius in place of Jano Vermaak
I would have picked Elton Jantjies in place of Johan Goosen…. at least till Johan Goosen had worked his form back up to where it was before the injuries
I think the general populace of SA should be happier with the squad as it is now… but still baying for a radical change in the game plan approach!
What is the point of picking Goosen, when Lambie has been sitting on the bench for the last 2 games and never go onto the field?
Broken Meyer.
13 @ Loosehead:
Who knows what the rationale behind that decision was not to give Lambie playing time… were you there?
Look, I think all 22 Bokke (OK 21 because Lambie did not get to play) were bad in Mendoza… the Bokke were bullied, left, right and centre… and the Argies played a very negative game, niggling the Bokke off the ball ect.
Not that that is or was an excuse…. Bokke should have adapted better… much better.
However, if I had to venture an educated guess, I would say Heyneke was still not happy with Lambie’s form, following his kak out of form game against the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Final.. just before the Rugby Championship started, and Morné had gotten Man Of The Match the week before…. so go figure.
Like I said, this time around I want Lambie at fullback to start…. and depending what Goosen’s progress is, either Johan Goosen or Zane Kirchner on the bench. Doubt Johan Goosen would make the bench because it would effectively mean the Bokke have 5 flyhalf possibles in the 22 – Morné Steyn, Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Pat lambie and Johan Goosen.
I also think Heyneke Meyer wants to assimilate Johan Goosen into the broader Bokke setup as quickly as possible to get him ready for when he eventually has to come on and be the No 1 choice going forward.
@ grootblouBokJan:
Howzit.
I agree with you on Stander and Jantjies, but not on Pretorius. I think that Sarel is possibly one of the best players in the world at sniping round the ruck with ball in hand, but conversely one of the worst distributors and defenders. i would have rather gone with the current Cheetahs scrummie (I forget his name).
Having said that, Im not of the opinion that Vermaak is all that bad, in fact I think he is actually very good. I’d like to see him play a full game to be honest.
PS really stoked for JPG. (Jan Pickard’s Grandson) 🙂
15 @ BobbejanklimdiebergStormersboySpringbokJan:
The 3rd Springbok scrumhalf would hardly get game time, therefore my choice of Sarel Pretorius, who has been electric back at the Cheetahs in the last few weeks…. and preferred over both Tewis de Bruyn and Piet van Zyl as first choice starter at the Cheetahs.
I think Francois Louw in combination with Marcell Coetzee and a harder strike runner like Willem Alberts could make a wonderful loosie combo. Jacques Potgieter, for all his energy, is just largely ineffective…. and does not value the finer nuances of the breakdowns like Francois Louw or Marcell Coetzee.
One has to look at what a loosie offers you both on attack and on defence, and Jacques Potgieter only offers something limited on attack and NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE on defence.
@ grootblouBokJan:Agreed on the loosie front. Ive posted a few times on my view of Potgieter, all show but no go, and prone to dropping the ball too. We really need a fetcher, not just to compete for possession at the beakdown and steal ball but also to slow down opposition ball. Flo does both really well, but Heinrich and Steggman could also have been picked and i wouldn’t have complained. Just as long as it’s a deck player.
I’m not convinced on Sarel, I do enjoy watching him play as hes electric on attack, but Im not sure his team mates enjoy cleaning up after him as much. But, as i said above, for me Jano is no 3. Actually no 2 at the moment as i’d play Ruan with Jano on the bench. Hougaard to the wing.
hey gbs
you should really get a “like” button on this site bru
..
bobbejanklimdiebergstormersboyspringbokjan @ 17
wholeheartedly agree!!
..
btw
can i call you bobbejan?
Francois Louw should be fresh/well rested as Bath have not yet started their competetive domestic season yet but been busy with pre-season training and games, not sure though how match fit he will be, see he played against Cardiff this past Saturday but not sure if he played against Ospreys the week before that and he didn’t play against London Welsh the week before that. So thats 1 game maybe 2 maximum that he has played since the end of last season.
Finally Vermuelen gets his call, but like the rest of you, I agree, he needs a game or two more before he is up to standard, but maybe 10/15 minutes off the bench will be good for him, or maybe 1st half. Goosen also lucky to be selected, not because he lacks talent, but lacks some game time. A loose trio with Flo, Daniel (8) and Alberts will be potent. I feel Lambie and Vermaak should have been released for some game time before the home leg. For the Lions I am glad Elton was left behind, but is a bit unlucky to be shifted down the pecking order.
@ maljan_vaaljan_dieboksupporter!:
Sure, my wife does 🙂
As long as I can call you maljan 🙂
Shoulda woulda coulda. HM has his chosen players and the pecking order is firmly fixed in his mind and ain’t nothing gonna change that. He’s a coach, not a selector remember!
Morne is not going to be replaced unless injury intervenes. No matter how kuk he plays, Heineken will just coach him better. Lambie and Elton are just there in case Morne gets injured. The next in line is Goosen and while he is still not match fit, he will be groomed/brainwashed/programmed to be our next robot fly half. Duane was always gonna be in the mix and now he is going to be chucked in, ready or not. Potgieter is similar to Morne, he will be “coached” to play better, not dropped. Crusty is our number 15 and only injury will remove him. JdJ is only there in the event of injury so not likely to play either. Only good sign is Louw. We will have to see what the run on side looks like, but I don’t think Meyer would take him from NH if he is not going to play him as he has mentioned horses for courses. So Louw will most probably start, fingers crossed!
HM is not gonna change his game plan midway through the season so the match against the Wobblies will be a toss up. Or the Wobblies will be just as kuk as us or they will come out firing and highly motivated to get the win at home so they can save their season. So we may scrape the win or they will klap us 50 – zip.
This will be the team for the next test
15 Kirchner
14 Habana
13 JDV
12 Frans
11 Mvovo
10 Morne
09 Hougaard
08 Vermeulen
07 POtgieter
06 Flouw
05 Bekker
04 Etsebeth
03 Jannie
02 Strauss
01 Beast/Greyling
16 Liebenburg/Willie Wep
17 Greyling/Beast
18 VDMerwe
19 Stegmann
20 Pienaar
21 JDJ
@ MaakieSharksAlmalBokkeseJan:
Stegman is not in the squad, so replace him with Coetzee and Bambie at 22.
2x hakers, 2x skrumskakels en 2x losskakels wat gaan splinters in die boude kry? Want die span gaan lyk soos #24 hierbo, niks anders….
@ MaakieSharksAlmalBokkeseJan:
Willie Wepener ook daar, 4 hakers?
After the last match, Meyer responded to a media question by stating that he is not a ‘picker’ but a coach. What am I missing?
27 @ Piet-Springbok-Jan:
Nee man, waar sien jy vir Wepener? Daar’s nie so iets nie!
… en waar in die lewe sien Tjarkie_Fornever vir Wepener EN Stegmann… hy sien seker nou nog blou spoke nadat die Blou Bulle met die Sharkies klaargespeel het laas Saterdag….. hehehe
Pietman, as jy gaan toer doer onder, 2 Toetse, dan vat jy mos 3 hakers en 3 scrummies…. veral omdat Hougie ook as vleuel gebruik word… so dis eintlik 2 en ‘n halwe scrummies.
Losskakels is ook eintlik 2 en ‘n half, want Lambie cover eintlik heelagter…
Julle is baie negatief manne, ek verstaan ons is kwaad oor laas Saterdag se game, maar jinne ek dink die groep is OK, benewens Jacques Potgieter, Goosen en Jano Vermaak. Sou graag vir Elton Jantjies wou gesien het in Goosen se plek, CJ Stander in Jacques Potgieter se plek en Super Sareltjie in Jano Vermaak se plek…. maar dis maar 3 uit 28 wat ek sou verander.
Vir my is die veranderinge aan game plan meer belangrik… en ek hoop Heyneke en kie beginne plan maak wat dit aanbetref.
grootblouBokJan wrote:
Die woord combo, dit is vir my baie teleurstelend dat die grote, slimme Heynecke so rondval en nie kan bly by n kombinasie nie. Ja ek weet daar is baie beserings maar ek sou graag dan n 2de beste kombo wil sien wat n paar speelkanse SAAM speel
Gobble_BokJan wrote:
Jis ek weet darem nie, jy is dood reg, HM kies nie vir Jantjes en in n mindere mate vir Lambie nie want ek kan nie insien dat die twee spelers heel game sy simpel skop ten alle koste wedstryd plan sal volg nie. Ek dink hulle sal buite die boks kyk en iets instintiefs , briljant doen. Dis mos nie die plan nie, of hoe se ek.
Soos GBS se ons probleem le eintlik by die GAME PLAN.
Ek wonder hoeveel spelers HM al in sy 5 toetse gebruik het. Sal bietjie gaan tel maar ek dink dis baie meer as die vorige 2 coaches na net 5 games.
Geen kontinuiteit kan dus opgebou word nie.
Toe Jake so geeksperimenteer het was ons almal op sy rug, ons het gevoel dat elke toets gewen moet word en dat die Springbokspan nie die plek is vir proefnemings nie.
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