Having a look at the training squad that was selected  for a 2 day training camp, and including the injured players who may be part of the RWC, it stands to reason that out of this lot the RWC squad will be selected. I am going to give my opinion regarding these players as to whether I see them as potential candidates and what the springbok’s chances are to retain the trophy.

The Autumn Tour in Europe is the last chance for PDV to decide who will be going, obviously barring injuries next year, as after the End of Year tour, players will need to be managed considering the extremely busy super 15 and Tri Nations in 2011.

Full Backs.

Zane Kirchner, Frans Steyn

Wings.

Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen, Gio Aplon,  Bjorn Basson, Lwasi Mvovu

Centers.

Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier, Juan du Jongh, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers

Flyhalves.

Morne Steyn, Elton Jantjies, Patrick Lambie

Scrumhalves.

Ricky January, Francois Hougaardt, Fourie du Preez

Eightman.

Pierre Spies, Danie Rossouw, Ryan Kankowski, Willem Alberts, Duane Vermeulen, Ashley Johnson 

Flankers.

Juan Smith, Dewald Potgieter, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussouw, Deon Steggman 

Locks.

Victor Matfield, Andries Bekker, 24 Bakkies Botha, Flip v d Merwe, Allistair Hargreaves, Gerhard Mostert 

Tighthead props.

CJ v d Linde, Jannie du Plessis, Werner Kruger 

Hookers.

Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, Chiliboy Ralapele, Adriaan Strauss

Loosehead props.

Guthro Steenkamp, Beast, Coenie Oosthuizen, Dean Greyling

The following players I believe are our best, and come hell or high water should be in the squad.

Frans Steyn, 39 tests, 110KG, win ratio 74%

Bryan Habana, 66 tests, 94KG, win ratio 66%

JP Pietersen, 36 tests, 102KG, win ratio 72%

Jaque Fourie, 62, tests, 105 KG, win ratio 71%

Juan du Jongh, 6 tests, 84 KG

Jean de Villiers, 63 tests, 103KG, win ratio 66%

Morne Steyn,21 tests, 90KG, win ratio 57%

Francois Hougaardt, 5 tests, 90KG

Fourie du Preez, 55 tests, 91KG, win ratio 70%

Danie Rossouw, 45 tests, 117KG

Juan Smith, 65 tests, 109KG, win ratio 69%

Schalk Burger, 63 tests, 110KG, win ratio 66%

Heinrich Brussouw, 13 tests, 103KG, win ratio 69%

Victor Matfield, 101 tests, 108KG, win ratio 61%

Andries Bekker, 24 tests, 121KG, win ratio 66%

Bakkies Botha, 68 tests, 122KG, win ratio 73%

Jannie du Plessis, 20 tests, 120KG, win ratio 75%

Bismarck du Plessis,32 tests, 114KG, win ratio 72%

Guthro Steenkamp, 31 tests, 122KG, win ratio 74%

Beast,22 tests, 116KG, win ratio 68%

New faces

The only new faces that have thus far convinced me that they can step up to the level of international rugby is Juan du Jongh and Francois Hougaard. Juan du jongh provides a very good defensive understanding and combination with Jaque Fourie, he has electrc pace and elusiveness and provides much needed unpredictability to an otherwise predictable back line. Francois Hougaard has impressed with the speed he cleans the rucks, his tactical kicking(bar a few mistakes), and his speed off the mark which allows him to snipe into gaps and put his opposition under pressure.

As for the positions.

We must have Frans Steyn for any number of reasons, his boot, his defensive capability and his strength in ball carrying. Zane has failed to impress, and the second position at full back is wide open. There after the cupboard is pretty bare.

On wing even after a poor season, Habana can not be discarded, JP Pietersen to me is still one of our most reliable defensive back line players, and good with ball in hand. He chases well and is a team player. There will be 2 spots on wing to fight for and although Aplon has been very good, I am afraid his size will always count against him, Basson and Mvovu for me. Basson has silky skills and Mvovu is most likely our strongest wing in the country.

Jaque Fourie has no equal in SA, he is defensively our best back line player and a brilliant runner with the ball, communicates well, and as an outside center accomplished in finishing moves. Juan de Jongh is the natural choice as these two have played very well together and as a combination even better than Jean de Villiers, who in my opinion still has a lot to offer, but losing pace. That would leave one position open, and unfortunately neither Wynand or Adie are the most defensive orientated centers.

At fly half we have a serious problem, yes Morne Steyn has the best boot in international rugby, but yet looking at his playmaking ability, I do have my concerns. The fact is we do not have anyone better, so by default he is our number one, all the more reason to have Juan de Jongh on his outside for some creativity. I know many Bull supporters will argue his play making ability, but no fly half kicks as much possession away as Steyn. Whether this is under instruction I have no idea. Fly half should be the pivot in deciding game plan, and this is where a team either becomes predictable or creative and thus far very little creativity has been shown. The fact that makes this position our weakest, is that there is no back up. Lambie and Jantjies as talented as they are, have no experience internationally, and to take either of them to a world cup is suicide. Peter Grant should be in the squad, but alas he now plies his trade overseas.

In contradiction to our fly half dilemma, we have two of the best scrum halves in world rugby, Fourie du Preez is proven and even Francois Hougaard has shown what he will become once the master has retired.

On eighth man, the only proven player is Danie Rossouw. He is the only no 8 who has shown time and again that he has the physicality to go forward in close encounters. Sadly Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski as good as they are, will never become top class no 8’s. What is very disconcerting to me, in Spies a better specimen of an athlete you won’t find, but yet he continues to disappoint. Perhaps he should reconsider his position, many disagree with me, but I believe he will be a brilliant center. So will Duane Vermeulen or Willem Alberts be the second choice? Alberts is my choice.

Juan smith has no equal in SA, he is simply the epitome of what you expect from a flanker in world rugby, go forward ball, physical in the tackle and a no nonsense player in the mould of Andre Venter. At six we are sorted, I still believe Schalk Burger has improved his game dramatically this year, two of the Stormers’ best tries came from deep in their half, and two players were prominent in those moves, Schalk Burger and Jaque Fourie. Schalk has learnt to offload and look for the supporter, he has also cleaned up his game, a must for the world cup. In Brussow we have the ultimate fetcher.

The Springboks simply can’t go to the World Cup without Matfield, Bakkies and Andries Bekker. Between those three we have arguably the best locks in the world.

Once again, and it seems this has been our problem area for quite some time now, is tight head prop. The only current Springbok I would take with to the world cup is Jannie du Plessis. Werner Kruger has at last been given the opportunity to prove himself, and if he doesn’t I will be bitterly disappointed. BJ Botha is not physical enough and CJ v d Linde is past his sell by date.

The biggest disappointment for me is to have to say John Smit must retire, he has been an ambassador for SA and a better example of a leader you’ll be hard pressed to find. The reason I believe he should go, is not only because he seems tired, slower and not coping with the pace of the game, but also because I believe he wields too much power in the direction the team is going. It is time for a fresh start, a new captain and new ideas, and with John Smit being there, I just don’t see this happening. Bismarck is the man, he is mobile, big, a great defender and in general play better than John Smit. Who should be the number 2 hooker, well I don’t know. I would have loved to see Tiaan Liebenberg.

Guthro Steenkamp is without debate the best loose head prop in south Africa, and add to that Beast as an impact player, we have mobility, two ferocious tacklers, and props that love to run with ball in and.

Concerns

So where are our biggest concerns? Full back, PDV and Frans Steyn need to sort out whatever the hell it is that went wrong. Fly half, Morne Steyn needs to be encouraged to be more creative, and packed away in cotton wool as there is no replacement for him. Eighth man is wide open, no one apart from Danie Rossouw has shown to be the number one. Tight head, I hope to hell that Werner Kruger can come out of the Autumn internationals with flying colours.

Captain

Who will I make captain in the absence of John Smit, well that is easy. Fourie du Preez, he is in my opinion the most intelligent rugby player we have, he has proven his vision and decision making ability for some time and is a natural choice.

Focus

It is important for us to win in Europe this November, even if there are some injuries and experimentations, no better way for the incumbents to prove they are worth it, by winning.

Finally,  our focus for this tour must be, possession, controlling the breakdowns, pace and execution, and having variety in our game plan.