It is often said class is permanent , but form is temporary.

Upon reflecting on the current Springbok situation and the recent performances of the incumbents and those hot on their heals for places in the Springbok squad, there will be furious debates on who are the class players and who are the form players, and somewhere in between all of this a squad must be selected to defend the Rugby World Cup.

Taking into consideration that no team has ever defended their title successfully, and the fact that this year the Rugby World Cup will be hosted by New Zealand, the task seems insurmountable. Especially when considering that many of the incumbents in the Springbok team has shown poor form of late.

Forget for now the game plan, coaching, rest periods and preparation, what I want to focus on is who is in form, who is class and who should be in the squad.

We have dealt with the ageing players and in I will make them part of the selection debate.

These are the players I want to look at.

Full backs:

Zean Kirchner, doesn’t distribute, good boot, defence OK, positional play OK.

Gio Aplon, on form, elusive runner, good ball skills, good distributor, defence OK.

Frans Steyn, class player, unknown form, unknown attitude, great boot, good defender.

Wings:

JP Pietersen, a must for the World Cup, good in all departments and in form.

Bryan Habana, class player, poor form, doesn’t follow defensive pattern.

Lwasi Mvovo, good form, strong runner, good defender, could look for more work.

Odwa Ndungane, no flash, honest hard worker, has lost some pace, good defender.

Bjorn Basson, excellent arial ball skills, strong finisher, defence questionable.

Centers:

Jaque Fourie, class player, strong runner and finisher, good distributor, excellent defender.

Jean de Villiers, class player but lacks a little creativity at 12, strong runner and defender.

Juan de Jongh, promising, solid defence, elusive runner, the only quality back up.

Wynand Olivier, poor defender, poor distributor, strong runner, not for me thanks.

Flyhalves:

Butch James, not for me thanks.

Morné Steyn, accurate kicker, defence sometimes questionable, can be class but needs confidence.

Patrick Lambie, a must for me, something new, playmaker, decent kicker, good defender.

Scrumhalves:

Ruan Pienaar, was great, now poor form, not for me thanks.

Fourie du Preez, class player, needs game time.

Francois Hougaard, promising, a must for his all round abilities.

Loose Trio:

Schalk Burger, class, discipline has improved, distribution has improved, physical.

Juan Smith, an absolute must, my player of the tournament in 2007.

Heinrich Brussow, a must, his pilfering might be sorely needed at times.

Pierre Spies, very good ball carrier, is effective when he has the right combinations by his side.

Jean Deysel, in the mould of Schalk Burger.

Willem Alberts, when the going gets tough, Alberts gets going.

Locks:

Victor Matfield, class, even though not at his peak anymore, a must.

Bakkies Botha, ditto.

Danie Rossouw, ditto.

Flip van der Merwe, solid, not great. would not have made it if Andries Bekker were available.

Gerhard Mostert haven’t seen enough to be sure.

Props:

Beast Mtawarira, class, mobile, physical, only weakness perhaps at scrumtime.

Jannie du Plessis, best tight head we have, but sometimes struggles in the scrums.

CJ v d Linde, I know we need back up and he is the best available, not convinced.

BJ Botha, not for me thanks.

Gurthro Steenkamp, good scrummager, defence solid, needs game time.

Hookers:

John Smit, great leader, solid in the tight phases, do not play him at prop.

Bismarck du Plessis, class, mobile, physical, good at the break downs, can cost penalties.

Chilliboy Ralapelle, every time you see him he does most things well, would love to see him do 80 minutes.

I would assume Peter de Villiers will go for a 17/13 split in selecting his squad.

My selections in bold.

I do realise there are other issues regarding preparation, fitness, injuries etc. But in my opinion these are the best we have.