Springboks
Captain Jean de Villiers says the Springboks need to learn from their mistakes as they prepare for the Australasia leg of their Rugby Championship campaign.
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.
Any thoughts that Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer may have about selecting Toyota Free State wunderkid Johan Goosen should be shelved until the Boks get back from Australia and New Zealand.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer pulled no punches when asked where things went wrong for his team as they drew the second Test in The Castle Rugby Championship, against Argentina in Mendoza, by 16-16.
Media reports are quick to plug that the Springboks have never lost to the Pumas.
However I can still remember the day in 1982 when Hugo Porta’s South American team, the Jaguars, gave the Springboks a hiding 21-12 with Porta scoring all his team’s points by running in a try, kicking a drop goal, and slotting a few penalties and a conversion.
Sharks hooker Craig Burden has replaced injured hooker Bismarck du Plessis in the 26-man Springbok squad that will travel to Argentina for their second Rugby Championship match this coming weekend.
For my 2 cents worth, I thought this was a good game from South Africa without it being a commanding one.
Only the 4th match into the Heyneke Meyer era, and after a very long and hard Super Rugby season, the number of injuries, the tiredness of the Sharks players in the Springboks and the short preparation time, these are all contributing factors that will always make the early games in The Rugby Championships seem a bit loose.
This was also very evident in the Australian Wallabies vs New Zealand All blacks match where a number of balls were spilled, knock-on’s, errors, etc was the prevailing trend.
This will improve, and I expect to see a much better performance in the next set of matches.
I have penned my feelings, lets open the debate and have your reactions to the match.
Keegan Daniel’s inclusion into the Springbok team at No 8 was one of five changes to the Bok side which last played against England at the end of June.
Daniel comes in for the injured Pierre Spies, and coach Heyneke Meyer said the young player would provide the team with “that X-factor”.
Springbok centre Frans Steyn will on Saturday play in his 50th Test for South Africa when they take on Argentina in the opening round of The Castle Rugby Championship at DHL Newlands in Cape Town.
Springbok No 8 Pierre Spies has been ruled out of The Rugby Championship due to an injury he sustained playing Super Rugby last month.
Newcomers Argentina may be the weakest outfit by IRB ranking in the Castle Rugby Championship, but the novelty of their first match in the competition looks like luring a full house to Newlands on Saturday.
Herewith some nice short audio clips from the Bok camp, as they prepare for this weekend’s clash at Newlands, Cape Town in the Springboks opener in The Rugby Championship.
Will simply recapturing his metronomic best place-kicking standards against Argentina at Newlands on Saturday be enough to cement Morne Steyn’s ongoing place in the Springbok side?
Springbok flanker Schalk Burger is expected to be ruled out of rugby for the rest of this year’s rugby season after he was injured in the opening round of Super rugby.
DHL Western Province centre Juan de Jongh has been called up to the Springbok squad in the place of the injured JP Pietersen.
Cape Town – Quickly freshening up the significant Sharks contingent in his Springbok squad is going to be a key, fairly formidable task for coach Heyneke Meyer ahead of the home-and-away Castle Rugby Championship Tests against Argentina.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has said he takes full responsibility for out-of-form flyhalf Morné Steyn and believes the No.10 will soon be back to his brilliant best.
He wasn’t selected into the 30-man Springbok squad for the Argentina leg that starts the competition, but Ryan Kankowski might yet get to play in The Castle Rugby Championship.
Two new faces in the form of Siya Kolisi and Pat Cilliers make up a squad including 5 uncapped players – the others being JJ Engelbrecht, Elton Jantjies and Jano Vermaak. The full squad is:
Although he would have learned a lot in recent weeks, how many changes can we expect to see in Heyneke Meyer’s Rugby Championship squad?
The Bok coach will reveal his squad on Saturday after the Super Rugby Final, and faces some big selection decisions in key positions given the differing fortunes of the major contenders in the last few weeks.
Bulls wing Bjorn Basson has undergone surgery in New Zealand after he sustained a tear to his intestines during his side’s loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
The Vodacom Bulls stalwart Wynand Olivier will join Japanese club Ricoh Black Rams at the completion of the Vodacom Super Rugby series, the Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd announced today.
The International Rugby Board have announced a list of eight referees and match officials for the forthcoming Rugby Championship which replaces the TriNations.
The Southern Hemisphere tours of the Home nations and Ireland are well and truly over by now with almost all of the players from these teams now able to put their feet up for a bit of rest and recuperation after what has been a very long season.
For what it’s worth I thought it would be interesting to see which team had the best tour.
This could be difficult as each team faced different opponents and some had midweek games while others didn’t. To try and take away any bias and subjectivity we have a look at the results as well as the comparative rankings of the teams according to the IRB.
Brian O’Driscoll said after the 3rd New Zealand/Ireland test match that speed at the ruck is what matters most and that the scoreboard reflect (60-0 for the All Blacks) in essence what happened at the breakdowns.
McCaw on questioned what did the AB’s rectify, after the second test, to produce the marked improvement in the All Blacks game said: “We kept our line better and were more successful (as compared to the second test) to create forward momentum at the rucks”.
Springboks (9) 14 / (8) 14 England (Final Score)
South Africa and England did battle in the 3rd Test of their series at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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SA Bokkies (9) 22 / (10) 16 NZ Baby Blacks (Final Score)
South Africa and New Zealand did battle in the IRB Junior World Championships FINAL at Newlands, Cape Town at 18:45 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
The South African Under 20 Bokkies are the WORLD CHAMPIONS!
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Port Elizabeth – Alex Goode and Thomas Waldrom will make their first starts for England in the third and final Test against South Africa after coach Stuart Lancaster named a side containing six changes on Thursday.
Heyneke Meyer has been in office a little more than 140 days, so to say he was relieved after his team banked a series victory over England would be fair, but does that mean he’s a relaxed man? Hardly!
Bulls flank Jacques Potgieter will make his debut for South Africa when they take on England at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Western Province and Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen has been called up to the Springbok squad in Port Elizabeth as cover for Frans Steyn who will miss the third and final Test against England.
Willem Alberts remains a doubtful starter for Saturday’s final test against England but the Springbok training session at Grey’s High on Monday brought some much needed tidings of joy for coach Heyneke Meyer.
Lock Juandre Kruger was assumed to be in doubt for the Nelson Mandela Stadium game here in Port Elizabeth after being carried off the field during the second test in Johannesburg with what was assumed to be a serious neck injury.
Johannesburg – An improved performance at the breakdowns contributed to Francois Hougaard looking more comfortable at scrumhalf in the Springboks’ 36-27 victory over England at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday.
There may be an upside in that the depth of his squad will now be tested in a dead-rubber test, but Heyneke Meyer’s plans to use the final match against England at Nelson Mandela Stadium as a build-up or dress-rehearsal for The Rugby Championship look set to be disrupted.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster is confident his side can bounce back to winning ways in Saturday’s third and final Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.