South Africans will know on 2 May whether John Smit will again lead the Springboks at the World Cup.
Sport24
That is when Springbok coach Peter de Villiers will make the announcement about what the country has been speculating for months: whether the most experienced Bok captain ever – Smit – will be replaced by the most experienced Super Rugby captain- Victor Matfield – for the tournament.
De Villiers started revealing his plans for the rest of the year on Wednesday and said that he still believes Smit is good enough to run out at hooker for the Springboks.
On whether he believes Smit can still make the team ahead of Bismarck du Plessis and remain his captain, the coach was coy.
But he did say that there is no reason that the Sharks can’t rotate the two more often during the Super Rugby tournament.
“You have a situation where you have two of the best hookers in the world. It will therefore make a lot of sense to rotate them. That will mean that I can pick two hookers that are both fresh and fit,” said De Villiers.
Indications are therefore that Smit will make the squad, but that the captaincy may be taken over by Matfield, who successfully led the Springboks on their November tour.
Smit missed that tour due to an injury and both Matfield and Du Plessis excelled.
De Villiers said the victory over England had meant a lot to the team’s psyche.
“We just had to believe again that we had the right playing style and that victory allayed many fears,” he said.
“I’m not worried about the way we play. Remember, Super Rugby is a long tournament and the styles there are very different than in the World Cup, where the style of play is generally a lot more conservative.
“Statistics will also show that the All Blacks kicked more than we did last year, so I’m not worried about where Bok rugby finds itself at the moment.”
De Villiers is planning short training camps in Cape Town (1 and 2 May) and Durban (11 and 12 June) before he announces a squad of 50 players on 19 June from which his final World Cup squad will be picked.
“I will keep the door open for every player as long as possible,” he said.
The squad for the Tri-Nations will be announced on either 2 or 9 June depending on the possible involvement of local teams in the knockout stage of the Super Rugby tournament.
De Villiers will travel through the country in June as part of an awareness and support campaign for the Springboks.
“We want to arrive in New Zealand in a positive frame of mind,” said the coach.
Regarding his management team and possible changes, the coach said that he had four consultants in mind to assist the Boks.
“I would like to speak to them first and make sure they are available before announcing any names.”
Room for Watson in Bok squad?
JJ Harmse
Poor Peter de Villiers. For years he was castigated because he picked Ricky Januarie in his Springbok team, despite the fact that the beefy scrumhalf rewarded him with a match-winning performance against the All Blacks in Dunedin.
On Wednesday, De Villiers announced his new contracted group of Springboks. Januarie’s name was absent. So where are the headlines today congratulating the coach in ‘dropping’ the Stormers halfback?
I suppose the reality of the situation is that there were more pressing issues that came to the fore after De Villiers first had a media session with the Gauteng-based journalists in the morning and then with the Cape Town clan in the afternoon.
John Smit’s captaincy, the use of consultants and the possible drafting in of overseas-based players (read Frans Steyn) are all dominating the headlines today.
I did not see any with regards to Januarie and maybe that is a fair indication how far down the ladder that issue has dropped.
For those of you who are wondering, De Villiers said that Januarie’s injury that prevented him from touring with the Boks in November last year and his recent form ruled him out of contention for a contract.
It is now up to the former Hopefield hero to fight back and show that he still is good enough to play for the Springboks.
Getting regular starting time for the Stormers will be crucial in that regard, but I fear Januarie’s dream to go to New Zealand and play in his second Rugby World Cup is diminishing fast.
But let’s give the player time to prove us wrong.
When looking at the contracts list, I was immediately struck by the fact that there were no fullbacks.
I was expecting Gio Aplon and Zane Kirchner to be there, or at least one of them, as they played in most of the Test matches in 2010.
This can be seen as a vote of confidence in Steyn, I suppose, and proof that the Racing Metro player will be there when De Villiers names his “bigger group” in June.
Steyn should be there. He does offer the Boks something extra with his kicking abilities and the fact that he can slot in anywhere from 10-15 in the backline, makes him a must have.
I was quite happy to see Juan de Jongh’s name among the elite, but was surprised that Adi Jacobs was still there.
There’s nothing wrong with the silky skills of the Sharks midfielder, but he also played very little rugby in 2010, so in a way, surely the same should have applied to him?
I am also happy to see Wynand Olivier’s name among the contracted list. Although he is having a torrid time at the moment and despite what all his detractors say, he has the gold medals to prove his worth.
No other centre in the country has been more consistent in the last three seasons of Super Rugby. That is fact and stats prove it. I predict Olivier to bounce back in spectacular fashion sooner rather than later.
The Bok coach referred to Steyn mainly when asked about overseas-based players. Include the name of Ruan Pienaar, who is just too versatile and talented not to travel to New Zealand. He can cover all backline positions, but I am expecting him to travel as one of the three scrumhalves, with Fourie du Preez and Francois Hougaard the others.
I would also have liked to add Schalk Brits to the mix, but it does not look if De Villiers is that interested at this stage. Same with Brian Mujati, who is playing out of his skin for Northampton.
Both of course, have been capped by De Villiers, so one could presume that he would look at them again.
Same with Luke Watson, who is returning to South Africa in the next couple of months. De Villiers has picked him before and now that he is back in the country, could do so again…
Question is, will Watson make himself available?
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
@ superBul:
Waar innie span, ons sit al klaar met n oormaat wereldklas loosies, nou nog vir die klein stirrer ook plek maak?
@ Pietman:
hahaha, ek krap nou waar dit nie jeuk nie , ne.
@ superBul:
Sien so ou maat…..g’nite eers,praat more, tjeers.
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