Cornal Hendricks
Ruan Pienaar
JP Pietersen
South Africa’s Sevens Player of 2013, Cornal Hendricks, will make his debut for South Africa in the 15-man code next to ten players who started in the Springboks’ final Test of 2013 when they face a star-studded World XV, sponsored by Samsung, at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday (kick-off at 17:00 SA Time).
The speedy Hendricks is the only newcomer in the team as Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer opted for continuity in his team’s first match of the year.
The old firm of Bakkies Botha and interim captain Victor Matfield are re-united in the second row. JP Pietersen moves to outside centre. Schalk Burger makes a return to the side for the first time in two and a half years while Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Lwazi Mvovo and Johan Goosen are also back after playing no Test rugby last year.
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The five players who started in the 19-10 win over France in Paris last November but are not in the starting team this week, are the injured Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Eben Etzebeth, as well as Flip van der Merwe and Coenie Oosthuizen, who will both start on the bench.
“It’s positive to have this kind of continuity in our first start of the year,” said Meyer on Wednesday.
“Even though we’ll be starting with a new midfield combination, Frans and JP have both played more than 50 Tests for the Boks and with Bryan Habana also in the backline, Cornal will start with a lot of experience around him.”
“We’re expecting a stern test on Saturday against the World XV and our mindset is to make our nation proud – it should never be anything else when the Springboks play. It will also be a good way to start the season before our first Test next week against Wales, but for now we’re only focused on the World XV and playing well.”
“Our aim for the season is to accelerate and make a step up from 2013. To put ourselves in a position to do that, we simply have to start well.”
Of the 23 in action on Saturday, 13 featured in the victory in Paris. One of the new faces is Matfield, who has been named captain with De Villiers out injured during the Castle Lager Incoming Series this month. It will be the 100-times capped lock’s first match in the green and gold since the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Meyer said it was pleasing to see Matfield and Botha re-united, while he was also very excited about the prospects of Hendricks on the wing, Pietersen at outside centre and the return of Burger, Brits and Steyn.
“If anyone told me two years ago that Victor and Bakkies would play together again for the Boks, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. They have been great servants of the game in South Africa and now have the opportunity to take it further.”
“We’re also keen to see what JP can offer at outside centre, where he’s played very well for the Cell C Sharks earlier in his career and for his club in Japan.”
“Cornal is a player I’ve been following for some time and I thought he made a very good transition from sevens to the 15-man code earlier this year. He’s big and very fast, and hopefully we’ll be able to provide him with some space to attack in. The Springbok Sevens can be very proud of the way in which they aided in his development to a top-class player.”
“Frans and Schalk Brits are both special players with the X-factor and it’s wonderful to have them back. Their attitude has been superb and I know they can add a lot in the coming weeks. Lwazi has been great for the Cell C Sharks this year and I believe he can make an impact later in the match, while I’ve always rated Johan and it’s good to see him getting back to his best.”
“This was a tough team selection to make and a couple of players were unlucky to miss out, but I know all of them will keep on pressing hard for selection in the weeks to come. I always like it if players in the team must make it easy for me to leave them in, and players outside the team must make it difficult to leave them out.”
Springbok team: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (Captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis (Vice-captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Fourie du Preez, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
Stats and facts:
- The Springboks’ starting team boasts a total of 762 Test caps (339 in the backline and 423 in the forwards), while there are a further 248 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa have played against World XV’s on three occasions at home since 1977, with the Springboks winning all three matches. The score in 1977 was 45-24 and in 1989 20-19 and 22-16 respectively.
- The Springboks have scored 78 points and 11 tries and conceded 59 points and nine tries for an average score of 29-20.
- At the end of 2006, a Springbok XV lost to a World XV in Leicester.
- Cornal Hendricks, the only uncapped player in the side, represented the Springbok Sevens from 2011-2013.
- The referee is the 37-year-old George Clancy of Ireland. This will be his ninth Springbok Test as referee. The Boks have won six and lost two of these eight encounters. His last Test for SA was against Australia on 7 September, 2013 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where the Boks won by 38-12.
@60
For sure, as he has shown in both the HC and Top 14 finals.
Still pure class
@ nortierd:
I wonder if Leicester supporter will throw all their thoys out their cot if he got selected…
@ nortierd:
I wonder how new zealanders feel about McCaw? He has been nowhere this year, if he even had an inch of the form he has had in the past, they would never have lost to the sharks, but he is there solely on reputation.
The NZ will back McCaw to the hilt.
He got injured early, came back 2 months later and still played a blinder.
He will be good to go, no one better than him and his captaincy is worth so much as well
@63
The Sharks game was a weird one, I would rather credit the Sharks with the fight they put in, but we saw how they flopped last week.
Same with the Saders against them, if it’s not your day, it’s not your day.
@ nortierd:
The sharks well deserved their win… but when McCaw plays well his whole team plays better.
Gosh it is ridiculous that Griquas has to play for currie cup promotion
66
He has evolved his game as the rules continuously changed.
He is more a tackler lately than solely stealing balls.
This is a very solid AB team, so he will do well.
Similar to Nonu, does nothing for any SR side he plays for, but put him in a black jersey and don’t stand in his way
MacroBok wrote:
Where do you get that?
@ nortierd:
all the first division teams have a chance to qualify as the 8th team in the premier devision, there is like a pre currie cup knockout round.
division*
http://www.sarugby.net/article.aspx?id=2353194
@72
Ja nee, and the Watson’s free ride continues.
Tjoo tjoo, lekker ry ons op daai gravy train
nortierd wrote:
😆
Bear in mind the SA Forwards are slow thinkers on their feat, a fast serving Scrumhalf won’t do here, he will have to kick it away all day
In my book Ruan is far better than FdP, best would have been Kockott or Reinach there but HM won’t have either
They are going to lose it again with the ABs and the Wallabies but not that much with Pienaar in the lineup!
😥
@ MacroBok:
70
I stopped watching the SR’s local derbies, can’t imagine who will be interested watching the expanded CC?
(I believe watching girls’ beach volley ball will be more interesting?
😀
@ Hondo:
There will be more spectators at a fishing competition 😀
“He’s big and very fast,…”
That’s all you have to be to become a Bok under HM. Not going to repeat what you guys said about the selections of JPP, Ruan. Just that HM’ “promise” that he won’t select people out of position clearly was a lie.
JdJ has been the best centre in SA this year. PERIOD. Still no place for him in a Bok starting line up. Makes a mockery of selection on merit and form. HM really doesn’t make it easy on me to support him 100%. And no, the result on Saturday counts for nothing so whatever the score in the Boks’ favor, it does not vindicate HM’s selections.
Great Article by Brendan Venter
http://www.supersport.com/rugby/blogs/brendan-venter/From_planning_to_performance
10 players in the match 23 are RWC winners from 2007. I can only imagine that they’ll be there next year as well with JdV and Jaques Fourie added to that list. Who are we kidding?
@ Nama:
Well Toulon did fine against the rest of europe with world cup winners from 2011, 2007 and 2003 😛
No “getting used to the Bok culture” for Hendricks. Sommer straight into the Bok team.
Some of his utterances in the past will haunt HM for years to come.
@ MacroBok:
True that. 😆
So, if Fransie limps off injured, it will be Morne to inside centre with Goosen coming on at FH? Mvovo to cover wing and FB.
What happens if JPP goes off injured? Willie to outside centre and Mvovo at FB?
Nama wrote:
I feel exactly the same, promises broken “no player out of posistion” , Was it he who said he would give feedback to the players where they stand throughout the season. If so imagine what he said to JdeJ
@ Nama:
81
lucky he does not sniff heluim. Really he is no better than the prev coach with shutting his mouth.
Nama wrote:
I really wonder what does he want to prove here. I can not believe he is going to try these combinations in the RC. Is he trying to prove every other coach wrong?
Vern Cotter is due to announce his first Scotland team on Thursday – they face USA on Saturday (early hours Sun morning in UK and SA)
The majority of the team is what we expected, the only real question marks are with 9 and 13
Frans was always going to be HM’s nr 12, question marks about his injury has now been answered, nothing wrong there, he has played all the SR games and straight into the test, so it looks like it was more a media storm in a teacup than a serious injury.
13 is the clincher, JP is a good player and has proven himself with the Boks, but he is no try scoring wing or player ( if one compares his strike rate to other international wings with the same amount of test caps ) so it stands to reason that he is there for defense only and maybe to bash it up if Ruan didnt kick, or Morne didnt kick or Frans didnt kick or bash it up because he is big.
The backline certainly doesn’t lend itself to attacking rugby, so with talk of rain and stormy weather, we are in for an afternoon of Shark SR game plan, forwards will try and dominate, backs will defend and hope for a turnover or a piece of individual brilliance to get a try.
The Sharks have been successful with this game plan, except when their forwards weren’t allowed to dominate, then they faltered.
So we must hope our forwards are up to the job, victory is in their hands alone.
Superbru throwing everyone a curved ball by including EP Kings v Wales in this weeks round!!!!!!!!!!
Looking at the Scotland squad in the USA let me try and guess the match day 23 that will be announced later today:
15 Stuart Hogg, 14. Max Evans 13 Mark Bennett 12 Duncan Taylor 11 Tim Visser 10 Ruaridh Jackson 9 Greig Laidlaw 8 Johnnie Beattie 7 Kelly Brown 6 Alasdair Strokosch 5 Jim Hamilton 4 Richie Gray 3 Geoff Cross 2 Ross Ford 1 Alex Allan
16 Kyle Traynor/Gordon Reid 17 Scott Lawson 18 Moray Low 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Kieran Low 21 Grayson Hart 22 Finn Russell 23 Sean Lamont – could be way out but the thinking was that this leg of the tour would be more about giving the players who play outside Scotland and won’t be in the second leg squad game time, wasn’t sure where/if Blair Cowen would fit in but he could be one of the players who I’ve not put down who could well be in. Also think most of the contingent who played for Glasgow in the final on Saturday would not be in the starting line up.
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