The selection of 8 uncapped players and the return of a further 6 are the features of the Springbok squad named on Saturday for the 5 matches leading up to the Rugby World Cup later this season.
In addition to the 36 squad members, the national selectors have identified 13 players who are currently injured or will be in rehabilitation, but will form part of an extended squad for the matches against the World XV, Castle Lager Rugby Championship and the Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
The uncapped players in the squad are Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Rudy Paige, Faf de Klerk, Jesse Kriel, Franco Mostert and Lionel Mapoe.
Back in the Springbok fold after not featuring in any Springbok Tests last year, are Elton Jantjies, Frans Steyn, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brüssow, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Heinke van der Merwe.
The currently injured players included in the squad are Springbok captain Jean de Villiers, Lionel Mapoe, Heinrich Brüssow, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Steyn, Coenie Oosthuizen, Lood de Jager, Duane Vermeulen, Cobus Reinach, Pat Lambie, Jaque Fourie, Jan Serfontein and Fourie du Preez. The latter suffered a knee injury while training with his Japanese club earlier this week.
“It’s a long list of injured players but all of them are in the selection frame and we’d like to work with them to assist with their rehabilitation,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Some of them are close to full fitness and they will start training as soon as possible. We’ll assess and manage all the injured players individually with their return to play in mind and will do what is the best for the player and the team, even if it means that some of them play for their clubs or provinces if deemed necessary by our medical team and in consultation with their unions.
“Coenie Oosthuizen has been selected, but he has a neck injury which will rule him out of joining the squad immediately. We will wait for medical clarity to ensure we do what is best for Coenie before a decision is made on the way forward.
“Even though Jaque Fourie announced that he had retired from Test rugby late last year, we have had positive talks with him and his club, Kobe in Japan, and an agreement was reached that he will be available for 1 last season of Test rugby. As soon as he’s back to full fitness, we’ll consider him for selection.
“Jean de Villiers’ rehabilitation is going very well but his return to play will be strictly monitored before an announcement in this regard is made.”
Scarra Ntubeni (hooker), Rudy Paige (scrumhalf) and Lionel Mapoe (outside back) have been part of Springbok tour squads before, but this will be the 1st involvement at international level for Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Franco Mostert (lock), Steven Kitshoff and Vincent Koch (both props).
Meyer added that Vodacom Super Rugby form weighed heavily and as always there were a number of players who were desperately close to selection, but just missed out in the end.
“This is testament to the great depth we’ve managed to build in most positions over the last few years. It’s good to know we have players outside this squad who will be able to slot in should it be necessary,” said the Springbok coach.
“Scarra has been with us before and he has done a great job specifically in the scrums with Vincent, Steven and Frans Malherbe for the DHL Stormers this year.
“Lionel, Franco, Faf and Elton have been part of the ever-improving Emirates Lions, while Rudy and Jesse grabbed their opportunities for the Vodacom Bulls this season.
Meyer added that he was pleased to have Heinke van der Merwe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Heinrich Brüssow, Frans Steyn and Jaque Fourie back with the Springboks.
“They are players with international experience and we know what they can do. It will be great to welcome them back into the Springbok fold and I know they will add value,” said the Springbok coach.
“It was great to see players such as Morné, Heinke, Bryan, Schalk Brits and Francois play in and win finals with their clubs in Europe.”
“We also talked to Andries Bekker as we wanted to consider him for selection, but upon a request from his club in Japan he was ultimately not picked for the squad at this stage. Hopefully he will be available at a later stage during the season.
“Flip van der Merwe was on our radar but ultimately he has decided to rule himself out of Springbok contention.”
Meyer said that he didn’t want to go into the 2015 Test season without exploring all options available to the Springboks.
“We will be guided by our medical team and specialists to ensure no stone is left unturned as we manage the injured players’ return to play. The players who have been included in the squad because of injuries to others must use this opportunity to break down the door to ensure they remain part of the squad as we look forward to the World Cup.
“As certain players regain fitness, others will be sent back to their provinces, but that doesn’t mean they are out of our thinking completely as the door to World Cup selection will never be fully closed. We talked to every player we thought could add value and considered every option available to us.
“The next 5 matches, before we finalise the squad for the Rugby World Cup, will be very important as we want to ensure the right 31 players are on the plane to England on 11 September.
“We have done a lot of planning and research and are well-prepared for the season. We’ll use the matches against the World XV, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to fine tune where necessary, but the next 2 months also provide the players with an opportunity to put themselves in contention to make the World Cup squad.”
The Springbok squad is (in alphabetical order):
- Willem Alberts (Cell C Sharks), Loose forward, 32 Test caps
- Schalk Brits (Saracens, England), Hooker, 7 caps
- Schalk Burger (DHL Stormers / Suntory, Japan), Loose forward, 75 caps
- Marcell Coetzee (Cell C Sharks), Loose forward, 26 caps
- Damian de Allende (DHL Stormers), Centre, 3 caps
- Faf de Klerk (Emirates Lions / Steval Pumas), Scrumhalf, 0 caps
- Bismarck du Plessis (Cell C Sharks), Hooker, 70 caps
- Jannie du Plessis (Cell C Sharks), Prop, 62 caps
- Eben Etzebeth (DHL Stormers), Lock, 33 caps
- Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions), Flyhalf, 2 caps
- Bryan Habana (Toulon, France), Wing, 106 caps
- Cornal Hendricks (Toyota Cheetahs), Wing, 11 caps
- Zane Kirchner (Leinster, Ireland), Wing / Fullback, 29 caps
- Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers), Prop, 0 caps
- Vincent Koch (DHL Stormers / Steval Pumas), Prop, 0 caps
- Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers), Loose forward, 10 caps
- Jesse Kriel (Vodacom Bulls), Fullback, 0 caps
- Willie le Roux (Toyota Cheetahs), Fullback / Wing, 25 caps
- Francois Louw (Bath, England), Loose forward, 34 caps
- Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Prop, 4 caps
- Victor Matfield (Vodacom Bulls), Lock, 121 caps
- Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (Toyota Cheetahs), Loose forward, 7 caps
- Franco Mostert (Emirates Lions), Lock, 0 caps
- Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks), Prop, 64 caps
- Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks), Wing, 10 caps
- Scarra Ntubeni (DHL Stormers), Hooker, 0 caps
- Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), Prop, 13 caps
- Rudy Paige (Vodacom Bulls), Scrumhalf, 0 caps
- Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland), Scrumhalf, 80 caps
- JP Pietersen (Cell C Sharks), Centre / Wing, 59 caps
- Handré Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Flyhalf, 9 caps
- Morné Steyn (Stade Francais, France), Flyhalf, 59 caps
- Adriaan Strauss (Vodacom Bulls), Hooker, 44 caps
- Heinke van der Merwe (Stade Francais, France), Prop, 4 caps
- Marcel van der Merwe (Vodacom Bulls), Prop, 4 caps
- Warren Whiteley (Emirates Lions), Loose forward, 2 caps
Injured / Conditioning squad:
- Heinrich Brüssow (Toyota Cheetahs / Docomo, Japan), Loose forward, 20 caps
- Lood de Jager (Toyota Cheetahs), Lock, 9 caps
- Jean de Villiers (DHL Stormers), Centre, 106 caps
- Fourie du Preez (Suntory, Japan), Scrumhalf, 70 caps
- Pieter-Steph du Toit (Cell C Sharks), Lock, 2 caps
- Jaque Fourie (Kobe, Japan), Centre, 72 caps
- Patrick Lambie (Cell C Sharks), Flyhalf / Fullback, 40 caps
- Lionel Mapoe (Emirates Lions), Centre, 0 caps
- Coenie Oosthuizen (Toyota Cheetahs), Prop, 21 caps
- Cobus Reinach (Cell C Sharks), Scrumhalf, 6 caps
- Jan Serfontein (Vodacom Bulls), Centre, 20 caps
- Frans Steyn (Cell C Sharks), Centre, 53 caps
- Duane Vermeulen (DHL Stormers), No 8, 29 caps
Not a bad squad at all!
Players unlucky to miss out:
– Jaco Kriel
– Francois Hougaard
Players who should not have been there at all:
– Heinrich Brüssow (I would rather have wanted to see Jaco Kriel there)
– Frans Steyn (I do not want to see him in a Bok jersey again)
– Jaque Fourie
– Coenie Oosthuizen
– Zane Kirchner
– JP Pietersen (specially not after this Super Rugby season)
Luckily there are still 5 Tests to weed out those who do not need to be there.
I am happy with Zane and Frans there. Both big match “riser to the occasion” kind of players with loads of experience.
JPP and Coenie are a waste of bench space though, agreed.
@ Pietman: agree Oom Piet
@ Pietman: words out of my mouth Oompiet
@ grootblousmile: Hougaard over JP any day of the week GB. But I’d stick with Brussouw. If he’s on form and fit then definitely. He matches Pocock. Easily.
6 @ Tassies:
Problem is, we do not know what form Heinrich Brussow will have and when he’ll be on top form, following his rather long injury in 2015.
Another thing bothering me is his choice not to return next year for Super Rugby, in a bid to play less rugby and extend his rugby career. In other words, I am starting to doubt his total committment to the cause…
Look, I think Brussow is a fabulous player… I just think that Jaco Kriel is the hungrier 1 of the 2. Give Jaco Kriel a chance and he’ll bleed for the Bokke all day if needed! I also think he’s more versatile as he can cover the No 7 spot as well.
We’ll beat most teams with this squad of players. But not the AB’s. Where are the game-breakers? Don’t see too many of those. Some old one’s certainly but no longer a match for the hot new Kiwis I think.
@ grootblousmile: I wont argue with you on that but Heinrich is the best turnover ball expert I’ve seen in recent memory in the Green & Gold
who’s your front row GB? And who feeds your scrum?
10 @ Tassies:
Jeez Tasse…
Front row would have to be Steven Kitshoff, Bismarck du Plessis & Frans Malherbe [the 3 in-form front-rowers in SA at present], with Trevor Nyakane (loosehead) & Vincent Koch (Tighthead) on the bench with Adriaan Strauss as hooker replacement.
It’ll never happen that way, that I also know!
I think the front row which will be chosen for the World Cup will be Beast Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Doc Jannie.
Who feeds the scrum…. jeez another conundrum as South Africa is bloody bare in that department at present!
I’ve never liked Ruan Pienaar and I am worried about Cobus Reinach’s form after a long injury… and equally worried about Fourie du Preez’ form, seeing as he has not played in months. However, if Fourie du Preez could get up to speed quickly, I do not think any of the others have the same tactical capability that he possesses, so I guess it would have to be Fourie du Preez, with Cobus Reinach or Faf de Klerk on the bench.
Tassies wrote:
Who are the ‘game-breakers’ that you’d have in the squad?
@ Angostura: We simply don’t have any Ango IMHO. Willie comes closest but only when he’s on form and carries a head full of confidence. Joost was a game-breaker. But we don’t have a Joost do we? Habs was a game-breaker but I don’t believe he qualifies any more. Does that answer your question?
If we were to use motor vehicles as a metaphor, I’d catagorise the Boks as a Toyota Landcruiser and the AB’s as a Ferrari. If you get my drift. Playing at Ellis Park you probably want a Ferrari. Playing at Leicester in the rain the Landcruiser might be a tad more competitive. But when the rain stops………
14 @ Tassies:
I would never pick a Ferrari on grass!
Hehehehe
I’d pick a well-rounded sum of parts which gells together in perfect unison… and in this case the all-terrain Landcruiser every time.
A Slight bump in the road and the Ferrari bottoms-out, whereas the Landcruiser navigates the bumps as if they are not there!
… to use your analogy!
Let’s hope Heyneke Meyer can make a well-tuned Landcruiser for England’s grass pitches!
@ grootblousmile: but those human Ferraris can perform some amazing tricks on grass and more often than not own the poor old Landcruiser regardless of how long or where the grass is.
16 @ Tassies:
I think you are right, the Bokke are up against it… and not only against the All Blacks!
England, Ireland, All Blacks… those are the danger boys.. and maybe even Wales.
Doubt the Wallabies have it to go all the way and I do not think France has the pedigree either.
@ grootblousmile: and GB you’re right about the versatility thingie but when I reach Sir Lowry’s Pass in the cruiser, the Ferraris come roaring past like they’ve been smoking grass and got an urgent try to score somewhere near Hermanus. 😥
18 @ Tassies:
Well, I suppose then it’s a good thing the Rugby World Cup is not played on Sir Lowry’s Pass!
Hey, I’m going in… I am meeting my son, BonzaiGBS’s new squeeze tomorrow, so I better get some beauty sleep… hahaha
@ grootblousmile: Well yes. But, on a good day, we can still nail the Poms and the Micks. Even those dodgy coal-miners. But we’re gonna need more than just a good day to have any chance against the AB’s. If Meyer proves me wrong then I’m going to be calling him a genius for many years and probably put up a little shrine in my garden alongside my ceramic gnome, dedicated to the man.
@ grootblousmile: cheers GB and don’t forget to breathe in deep tomorrow, pull in the waistline and impress the young lady. And ‘don’t’ get jealous. 🙄
At least there is no Spies!
What Kirchner, Ntubeni, Ruin P and Morne are doing in this squad is beyond me.
It looks like a squad that JW would pick. I’ll bet that it will be the same game plan that JW used in 2007.
Hopefully it will be the same result, but will what worked for JW in 2007 work for HM in 2015?
IMO the BOK prospects of reaching the RWC final rest not on their selection of big match temperament players or game-breakers, but on a (preposterous) single miracle result, viz. The Pumas beating The All Blacks in match 8 of the tournament.
And if they were to reach the final anything is possible (but even so, it is highly unlikely that the current crop of Bokke will beat any of NZ, ENG or IRE in a final at Twickenham).
It is virtually baked in the cake that NZ will defeat SA in SF1 at Twickenham.
IMO the RWC matches of significance are the following:
NZ vs ARG – match 8
ENG vs WALES – match 16
SA vs SCO – match 25
ENG vs AUS – match 26
AUS vs WALES – match 35
FRA vs IRE – match 39
QFs 1, 2, 3 & 4 (especially QF1)
Both SFs
And of course, The Final.
Notwithstanding I’ll be rooting for the Bokke.
@ Angostura: morning boys. Goodness, winter in the Cape is an unpleasant beast. Which rather limits one to; a log fire, a good book and a bowl of soup. Its going to be that kind of sunday. Scratch that intended ride to Chappies sadly.
And on that subject; mountain-bike rider Matfield seems to be of the opinion that fitness is going to win us the WC. It will help granted but is not the magic formula that will get them across the line. Skill and holding onto the pill will be higher on the list of priorities. Why are they leaving Hougaard behind?
@ Tassies:
” and probably put up a little shrine in my garden alongside my ceramic gnome”
You have a life sized Cheslin Kolbe display in your garden?
And Tassies, Ferrari have also come up with a 4×4 model, so the AB’s, being the Ferraris will do ok on grass. 😆
Bokke can avoid the AB’s in the semis if they throw one of their pool games?
Maybe this WC it would be better to travel the low road?
24 @ Tassies:
Morning boet. Long time no chat. How you doing? Hope well.
You live in the wrong part of SA in winter. Here in Umhlanga it will be 23 degrees with full sun boet. Eish that wet winter in the Cape would never do me. Just read a book with a log fire some good Red Wine or a good Port. In the evenings of course. Hahaha.
Agee with you and Piet. Fransie is a match winner and very pleased to see his name there. He lives when here and not in Japan in the same place I live. Have spoken to him he had no issues with the Boks at all nothing against the players or HM it was with SARU not agreeing to pay him what was due to him and the whole team supported him in what he done last year. No one signs a contract at any place you work for what you expect to earn and don’t get it. Most would walk out a company if they never paid them what was on contract due to them. Fransie has always wanted to play for the Boks it was SARFU messing him about. Bet none of the others after he walked out will get messed about again by SARFU. He basically took one for the all the players then they all stood by him.
Anyhow all and all we have some good players there but one that missed out the most is definitely J.Kriel from Lions. What a player he is and he most definitely would be in my squad. Pleased to see Jesse Kriel’s name up there. My feeling he will be one of our best fullbacks for years to come. Rate him even more than Willie. He is still young but think will in the future be the Bok FB. A little worried about JPP he was not good this year and for me he is no outside centre only play him on the wing. But he was truly awful this year for Sharks he should have played at 14 and Sithole should have been at outside centre. Now that Sharks gave Sithole no chances this year to prove what he could do at outside centre he misses out on selection for the Boks. 13 is his best position he is better there than JPP had no clue why our useless coaches at the Sharks this year could not see Sithole playing at 13 and JPP should have only played 14. But as they say as soon as you slip that Green and Gold on you become a different player. So hoping JPP is better for the Boks than he was for Sharks. HM just must not play him at outside centre. Also pleased to see the Lions scrumhalf there Faff well deserved call up.
Not sure of our chances in this world cup but one just never know. No one gave us a chance in 95 and we proved everyone wrong. So hope we can go all the way. Have my doubts but still hoping we do.
Cheers boet good to catch up again.
Ryecather my good friend if you read this how you doing? Hope welwill catch up with you here sometime when we both on line. Keep well bud.
27 @ Puma:
Sorry typo there: welwill = we will
@ Puma:
Hi pal.Hope that you get this and that you are fine.
How is your knee??/hip???
Enjoyed the games yesterday.Watching Kiwi teams
is like watching teams from another planet.
Lots of Aussie complaints re:Craig Jouberts reffing.
Are you guys going into water restrictions yet?
If not,be prepared.
Kind regards.Rye
nortie wrote:
88
What do you mean? Who would have to throw the match? the ABs? Why would they have to? You regard the Bokke a genuine threat?
If you are suggesting the Bokke throw a match, say, vs Scotland, then how does that help the Bokke? They then likely face ENG in the QFs (as opposed to Wales or AUS), & likely exit the tournament there & then, even before the SFs …
Dunno, but seems to me that SA will have to avoid facing NZ like they did in 2007:
For that to happen ARG will have to win ALL their pool games including vs. NZ in match 8, & IRE will then have to beat NZ in the QFs …
Is referee Barnes reffing in this RWC? 😆
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