Jean de Villiers
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has recovered from the knee injury which kept him out of the June Tests and is back in the national squad for the forthcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
De Villiers is one of six players returning from injury after missing the entire or a part of the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
The others are Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Frans Malherbe (prop), Eben Etzebeth (lock), Patrick Lambie (flyhalf / fullback) and Damian de Allende (centre).
De Allende, who was forced to withdraw from the squad in June because of a knee ligament injury, and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach are the only two uncapped players in the 30-man Springbok squad.
The national selectors have also retained four debutants from the June series for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship – Cornal Hendricks (wing), Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (loose forward), Lood de Jager (lock) and Handré Pollard (flyhalf).
“It’s great to have Jean back to lead the side in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Victor Matfield and Jan Serfontein both did superbly well in his absence, but he is our captain and I’m sure he will slot back into the side without any difficulty. The same goes for Eben, Frans and Patrick, all of whom have been part of the squad before.”
“We will medically assess all the players in the squad in Johannesburg next week. This will not only include the players who missed the June Tests because of injury, but also someone such as Mtawarira, who has been out of action for a while. We will deal with every player and his needs individually.”
Commenting on the inclusion of Hendricks, a recent gold medal winner in Sevens at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland, Mohoje, De Jager and Pollard, Meyer said: “These players have impressed from the first minute they joined us.”
“This is a step up for all of them, but that is the kind of challenge we thrive on.”
“It’s never easy cutting a squad down in size and we’re fortunate that we have a number of experienced players who will be on stand-by should their services be needed.”
Meyer said he is looking forward to the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, which kicks off on Saturday 16 August when Australia host New Zealand in Sydney and the Springboks take on Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (kick-off at 17:00 SA Time). The Springbok squad will gather in Johannesburg for a pre-competition camp from 4 to 8 August and then again on 10 August in Pretoria, where they will prepare for the Test against Argentina.
“We’ve been steadily improving over the past two years but another step-up is needed this season,” said Meyer. “It’s been a theme for us since the start of the season and we must simply keep on accelerating in the coming two months. We’ve set ourselves some goals for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and we’ll have to be focused and switched on from the moment we get together in Johannesburg.”
“Winning matches and scoring tries remain foremost in our minds. During the four matches in June, we scored 23 tries, which we were very happy with. I think we can be proud of the rugby we played against Wales and Scotland, but that is in the past now and we have a new competition to get ready for.”
“There are many good things we can build on from the June series, but also some things we need to work on if we’re going to be competitive in the coming months.”
“It’s a challenge we relish though and I can’t wait to get going.”
Two senior Springboks who will play in Japan in the coming months, JP Pietersen and Schalk Burger, were not considered for the start of the competition. They have to report to their respective clubs next week.
“Obviously the squad can change during the course of The Rugby Championship and although JP and Schalk were not considered at this stage, they could still feature later in the competition,” said Meyer.
Injured players who were not available for selection after featuring in 2013 or earlier in 2014, are Flip van der Merwe (knee), Pieter-Steph du Toit (knee), Arno Botha (knee), Pierre Spies (bicep), Fourie du Preez (ankle) and Jaque Fourie (ankle).
Springbok squad for The Rugby Championship 2014:
- Willem Alberts (Cell C Sharks) Loose forward, 32 Test caps
- Bakkies Botha (Toulon, France) Lock, 79 Test caps
- Schalk Brits (Saracens, England) Hooker, 7 Test caps
- Marcell Coetzee (Cell C Sharks) Loose forward, 16 Test caps
- Damian De Allende (DHL Western Province) Centre / Wing, uncapped
- Lodewyk de Jager (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Lock, 3 Test caps
- Jean de Villiers (captain, DHL Western Province) Centre, 96 Test caps
- Bismarck du Plessis (Cell C Sharks) Hooker, 60 Test caps
- Jannie du Plessis (Cell C Sharks) Prop, 54 Test caps
- Eben Etzebeth (DHL Western Province) Lock, 23 Test caps
- Bryan Habana (Toulon, France) Wing, 97 Test caps
- Cornal Hendricks (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Wing, 3 Test caps
- Francois Hougaard (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Scrumhalf, 28 Test caps
- Patrick Lambie (Cell C Sharks) Flyhalf / Fullback, 32 Test caps
- Willie le Roux (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Fullback / Wing, 15 Test caps
- Francois Louw (Bath, England) Loose forward, 30 Test caps
- Frans Malherbe (DHL Western Province) Prop, 2 Test caps
- Victor Matfield (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Lock, 113 Test caps
- Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Loose forward, 1 Test cap
- Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks) Prop, 55 Test caps
- Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks) Wing, 9 Test caps
- Trevor Nyakane (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Prop, 4 Test caps
- Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland) Scrumhalf, 76 Test caps
- Handré Pollard (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Flyhalf, 1 Test cap
- Cobus Reinach (Cell C Sharks) Scrumhalf, uncapped
- Jan Serfontein (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Centre, 12 Test caps
- Gurthrö Steenkamp (Toulouse, France) Prop, 51 Test caps
- Morné Steyn (Stade Francais, France) Flyhalf, 56 Test caps
- Adriaan Strauss (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Hooker, 34 Test caps
- Duane Vermeulen (DHL Western Province) No 8, 19 Test caps
8 Sharks, 4 WP, 7 Cheetahs ( but 2 must actually be counted with the Bulls, as Adriaan and Trevor are going to them) 4 Bulls, not counting the 2 Cheetahs 😀 and 7 foreign players
1 @ nortierd:
in other words… only 15 local players? 😈
Credit to HM, even I didnt think he was going to retain JDV as captain.
MacroBull wrote:
Ha ha
7 foreign and 8 from the last outpost?
You will have Charo logging on with those sort of comments
Thanks, Norts, no great surprises.
Going to be a step up from the last few matches, I still think that Aus are going to be the team to beat this year.
Go Boks
@ nortierd:
hehe, in All seriousness, 30 Springboks, GO BOKKE
MacroBull wrote:
That’s the spirit….
5 @ Just For Kicks:
Agree, they are going to end the AB’s unbeaten run in 2 weeks time
@ nortierd:
Really agree with some sentiments that Eben should have first played a club game or two before being thrust straight back into the Bok side and against opposition as tough as the AB’s and Aussies
@ nortierd:
Eben is good enough to fit right in in my opinion, especially from the bench.
@ MacroBull:
Good enough, yes, but match fit enough to compete with blokes who had 20 odd rounds of SR under the belt?
@ nortierd:
Then again he will be fresher, Im sure he wont last a whole game, but he would definitely last 40 minutes, he can’t possibly that unfit, can he?
@ MacroBull:
No, but there are certain times I wish we would learn from the New Zealanders in some respects….when their players return from sabbaticals and such, they aren’t too important to turn out for their club sides to get back into the swing of things
@ nortierd:
Then again:
“We will medically assess all the players in the squad in Johannesburg next week. This will not only include the players who missed the June Tests because of injury, but also someone such as Mtawarira, who has been out of action for a while. We will deal with every player and his needs individually.”
So he may still play a currie cup game first. I though am confident enought to let him play the last 30-40 minutes to replace bakkies or lood
@ nortierd:
If he plays currie cup, then you can bet your house AC will play Eben for a full 80 minutes anyway.
Eben would be as sharp as any of our forwards especially the sharks and Vermeulen.
Id give Lambie a few games for the Sharks though. His game will be much more technically inclined over Etsebeth who’s trademark is his physicality that comes completely naturally anyway.
Must be place for Juan Smith in that team.
@ MacroBull:
Lambie is easy enough to sort out, all HM has to do is tell him to do completely the opposite of what Jake told told him to do
@ Tuff Gong:
Id also like Juan… but for who though?
Alberts?
Coetzee?
Vermeulen?
Louw?
I guess the only one would be Oupa, but as a 23 year old it is better to have him in the squad now as he is set to be a future stalwart imo. Then there is also Schalk who will join the team later.
@ nortierd:
The Sharks will also need Lambie in the currie cup more than the boks will.
@ MacroBull:
Alberts as impact player.
His either hot or cold nothing in between.
Dont think Juan ever had a bad game for the Boks.
@ Tuff Gong:
Alberst has been very hot the last two years…
@ MacroBull:
Don’t remember Alberts having a big game against the old foe.
If my life depended on it I’ll play Juan.
Oh the physio also needs to give the thumbs up.
@ Tuff Gong:
well not many of our players have had big games against them in the last four years except maybe Bissie, but to drop Alberts from the squad would be EXTREMELY unpopular.
Paarl Gim v Booishaai, 6-3 after 45 minutes.
Nie ons ons skool kinders in die Kaap weet meer hoe om driee te druk nie
26 @ nortierd:
Game has at least come a bit alive now.
Gim scored and now Booishaai also got in for a try
13-8
The cupboard is bare when it comes to 9’s……………….Ruin Pienaar, Hougaard and Reinach? The Aussies and Kiwi’s are going to toy with us.
I hope that Pollard starts every test.
28 @ Loosehead:
They are, but not just because we don’t have decent scrum halves.
Their players are on a different level to ours at the moment, as we saw all through the SR.
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