Siyabonga “Scarra” Ntubeni is one of four uncapped players who will join three stalwarts of the Rugby World Cup winning squad of 2007, JP Pietersen, Jaque Fourie and Bakkies Botha, in 32-man Springbok squad for the forthcoming Castle Lager Outgoing Tour to Wales, Scotland and France.
It will be Botha and Fourie’s first involvement with the Springboks since the previous Rugby World Cup, in 2011 in New Zealand, while Pietersen is back in the squad for the first time this year.
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For the 22-year-old Ntubeni, this tour will be his first involvement with the Springboks.
The other three uncapped players in the touring party, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Louis Schreuder, have been part of the national squad previously.
Gio Aplon, who was part of the squad in June, and Johan Goosen, who recently returned after seven months out injured, were recalled to the team.
“Scarra’s inclusion, like that of Gio, is also just-reward for continuous great form,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“He’s still young and will learn a lot from our two front-line hookers, who both rate amongst the best in the world, on this tour. I want to expose him to this environment and the Springbok ethos and I’m very excited to work with him.
“It will be great to have Bakkies, Jaque and JP in the squad – all of them are really excited to play for the Springboks again, they have heaps of experience and are world-class players.
“Pieter-Steph missed a large part of the season because of injury but has been exceptional since his return to the playing field last month, while we’ve always rated Frans very highly and look forward to working with him again.
“And Louis has always been on our radar – he is only 23, fits in with the way we want to play and was impressive when he worked with us in June. Since then he’s established himself as first-choice at DHL Western Province, starting in nine of their 12 Absa Currie Cup matches, and I believe he will learn a lot on this tour, improving even more.”
Meyer said the Springboks would like to build on their performances during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in the Tests against Wales (9 November in Cardiff), Scotland (17 November in Edinburgh) and France (23 November in Paris).
“We’ll play in conditions we’ve not yet encountered this year, but we want to keep our positive mind-set on the field and hopefully keep on scoring tries,” said Meyer. “We’re up for the challenge. I know the players are keen to finish 2013 off on a high.
“The Welsh have won the Six Nations the last two seasons. It’s our first Test against them since the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and they will be fired up at the Millennium Stadium.
“This year Scotland finished third in the Six Nations and in our two Tests against them in the last two seasons, they have been a tough nut to crack. We’re not expecting anything different at Murrayfield this year.
“We finish off against France at the Stade de France, where the Springboks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007. But we’ve not beaten Les Bleus in France since 1997 and will have to be sharp and focused for this last Test of a challenging season.”
Injuries to Arno Botha, Pierre Spies, Francois Hougaard and Jaco Taute meant they were not considered for selection.
Springbok squad:
Fullbacks:
- Zane Kirchner Fullback 28 caps 25 points 29 years
- Gio Aplon Fullback/Wing 17 caps 25 points 31 years
- Willie le Roux Fullback/Wing 9 caps 15 points 24 years
Wings & Centres:
- JP Pietersen Wing 48 caps 70points 27 years
- Bryan Habana Wing 92 caps 265 points 30 years
- JJ Engelbrecht Centre/Wing 10 caps 20 points 24 years
- Jaque Fourie Centre 69 caps 160 points 32 years
- Jean de Villiers (captain) Centre 93 caps 120 points 32 years
- Jan Serfontein Centre 9 caps 5 points 20 years
Flyhalves:
- Morné Steyn Flyhalf 51 caps 618 points 29 years
- Johan Goosen Flyhalf 4 caps 8 points 21 years
- Pat Lambie Flyhalf/Fullback 29 caps 55 points 23 years
Scrumhalves:
- Fourie du Preez Scrumhalf 65 caps 70 points 31 years
- Ruan Pienaar Scrumhalf 71 caps 130 points 29 years
- Louis Schreuder Scrumhalf 0 caps 0 points 23 years
Looseforwards:
- Duane Vermeulen No 8 13 caps 5 points 27 years
- Siya Kolisi Loose forward 8 caps 0 points 22 years
- Francois Louw Loose forward 25 caps 25 points 28 years
- Willem Alberts Loose forward 27 caps 30 points 28 years
- Marcell Coetzee Loose forward 14 caps 5 points 22 years
Locks:
- Pieter-Steph du Toit Lock 0 caps 0 points 21 years
- Eben Etzebeth Lock 20 caps 0 points 22 years
- Flip van der Merwe Lock 31 caps 5 points 28 years
- Bakkies Botha Lock 76 caps 35 points 34 years
Props:
- Jannie du Plessis Prop 51 caps 5 points 30 years
- Frans Malherbe Prop 0 caps 0 points 22 years
- Coenie Oosthuizen Prop 11 caps 5 points 24 years
- Gurthrö Steenkamp Prop 46 caps 30 points 32 years
- Tendai Mtawarira Prop 50 caps 10 points 28 years
Hookers:
- Bismarck du Plessis Hooker 54 caps 40 points 29 years
- Adriaan Strauss Hooker 30 caps 25 points 27 years
- Scarra Ntubeni Hooker 0 caps 0 points 22 years
Dankie Pietman, ja jong dis nou sulke tyd, more oggend 6 uur boek ek in en hul sny so teen 12 30
@ Pietman:
Ek hoop maar dat ons die EOY Toer onoorwonne kan klaarmaak. HM het n lekker paadtjie geloop al, net die bleddie Kiwis wat hom kelder.
@ superBul:
Jy al in Pta?
Sterkte broer, dink aan jou 12h30,vasbyt. Kry die besigheid ‘agter die rug’, figuurlik gesproke!
Mooi loop, en moenie daai mooi nursies pla nie, onthou jou rug is seer, hehehehe!!!
@ superBul:
@32 Ja, ek glo ons sal onoorwonne klaarmaak, net moosa nat daar oppie eiland nou na al die storms…
Ek het vertroue in HM, verstaan net nie sy keuses altyd so lekker nie, maar hy weet meer as ek, so….
@ Pietman:
Ja reeds hier by my ousus in Rooihuiskraal. Ek sal maar stadig met die nursies, wil regtig hierdie ding agter die rug kry. Hou maar styf duim vas, ek sukkel gewoonlik om van die narkose by te kom. As ek eers by is sal julle van dalien hoor en hopelik baie gou van my ook.
Nou vir bietjie slaap as ek kan. Nag
10 @ Just For Kicks:
Howzit JFK hope you’re all doing well, you lucky fish how have you already got your tickets in hand, our 2 are booked (via the web) but Postman Pat has not delivered them yet to us.
@ grootblousmile:
Passports are quick to arrange. Mine took me a week last year, and customers have been telling me that the local home affairs office tells them that 10 days is what it takes.
You know where to come when you want sit on the tropical island sipping mohitas while ogling the senoritas out.
Francois Steyn is undergoing a knee op so he couldn’t tour in any case.
Not a bad squad this. On the question of selecting overseas based players, we must realise that rugby is a professional sport, and the coach should have the liberty to select the best available players, whether they are based in SA or abroad. It is up to the local unions to ensure that their star players are not lured away by the Pound/Euro/Yen. And each player must have a clause in his contract allowing him to play for SA.
Our own BlommieBul, was operated on today at the Faerie Glen Hospital in Pretoria…
Back operation, it was.
Have just received the good news that the operation is finished and that he came through OK. In Intensive Care at the moment and his wife can only see him tomorrow.
So far, so good!
All the best, friend… been thinking of you for hours now!
40 @ grootblousmile:
Glad to hear the old man’s op was a success.
“Take it easy SB and get strong quickly”.
Worst selection: Louis Schreuder: can’t pass and famous for his telegraph move! Surely we have young scrumhalves who can be Groomed?
Unluckiest youngster: Steven Kitshoff : what more must you do in a 9 month season?
@ grootblousmile:
Glad to hear that SB has come through the op. Please send him our best wishes.
@ badprop:
Perhaps Kitshoff should peroxide his hair> it has worked in the past; but on a serious note I agree that he was unlucky not to crack the nod.
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