Cornal Hendricks
Ruan Pienaar
JP Pietersen
South Africa’s Sevens Player of 2013, Cornal Hendricks, will make his debut for South Africa in the 15-man code next to ten players who started in the Springboks’ final Test of 2013 when they face a star-studded World XV, sponsored by Samsung, at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday (kick-off at 17:00 SA Time).
The speedy Hendricks is the only newcomer in the team as Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer opted for continuity in his team’s first match of the year.
The old firm of Bakkies Botha and interim captain Victor Matfield are re-united in the second row. JP Pietersen moves to outside centre. Schalk Burger makes a return to the side for the first time in two and a half years while Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Lwazi Mvovo and Johan Goosen are also back after playing no Test rugby last year.
sarugby
The five players who started in the 19-10 win over France in Paris last November but are not in the starting team this week, are the injured Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Eben Etzebeth, as well as Flip van der Merwe and Coenie Oosthuizen, who will both start on the bench.
“It’s positive to have this kind of continuity in our first start of the year,” said Meyer on Wednesday.
“Even though we’ll be starting with a new midfield combination, Frans and JP have both played more than 50 Tests for the Boks and with Bryan Habana also in the backline, Cornal will start with a lot of experience around him.”
“We’re expecting a stern test on Saturday against the World XV and our mindset is to make our nation proud – it should never be anything else when the Springboks play. It will also be a good way to start the season before our first Test next week against Wales, but for now we’re only focused on the World XV and playing well.”
“Our aim for the season is to accelerate and make a step up from 2013. To put ourselves in a position to do that, we simply have to start well.”
Of the 23 in action on Saturday, 13 featured in the victory in Paris. One of the new faces is Matfield, who has been named captain with De Villiers out injured during the Castle Lager Incoming Series this month. It will be the 100-times capped lock’s first match in the green and gold since the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Meyer said it was pleasing to see Matfield and Botha re-united, while he was also very excited about the prospects of Hendricks on the wing, Pietersen at outside centre and the return of Burger, Brits and Steyn.
“If anyone told me two years ago that Victor and Bakkies would play together again for the Boks, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. They have been great servants of the game in South Africa and now have the opportunity to take it further.”
“We’re also keen to see what JP can offer at outside centre, where he’s played very well for the Cell C Sharks earlier in his career and for his club in Japan.”
“Cornal is a player I’ve been following for some time and I thought he made a very good transition from sevens to the 15-man code earlier this year. He’s big and very fast, and hopefully we’ll be able to provide him with some space to attack in. The Springbok Sevens can be very proud of the way in which they aided in his development to a top-class player.”
“Frans and Schalk Brits are both special players with the X-factor and it’s wonderful to have them back. Their attitude has been superb and I know they can add a lot in the coming weeks. Lwazi has been great for the Cell C Sharks this year and I believe he can make an impact later in the match, while I’ve always rated Johan and it’s good to see him getting back to his best.”
“This was a tough team selection to make and a couple of players were unlucky to miss out, but I know all of them will keep on pressing hard for selection in the weeks to come. I always like it if players in the team must make it easy for me to leave them in, and players outside the team must make it difficult to leave them out.”
Springbok team: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (Captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis (Vice-captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Fourie du Preez, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
Stats and facts:
- The Springboks’ starting team boasts a total of 762 Test caps (339 in the backline and 423 in the forwards), while there are a further 248 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa have played against World XV’s on three occasions at home since 1977, with the Springboks winning all three matches. The score in 1977 was 45-24 and in 1989 20-19 and 22-16 respectively.
- The Springboks have scored 78 points and 11 tries and conceded 59 points and nine tries for an average score of 29-20.
- At the end of 2006, a Springbok XV lost to a World XV in Leicester.
- Cornal Hendricks, the only uncapped player in the side, represented the Springbok Sevens from 2011-2013.
- The referee is the 37-year-old George Clancy of Ireland. This will be his ninth Springbok Test as referee. The Boks have won six and lost two of these eight encounters. His last Test for SA was against Australia on 7 September, 2013 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where the Boks won by 38-12.
hmmm, ok Forwards are great. Backline we will have to see, I’m not convinced that this is our best options.
on the bright side.
bakkies en victor 😀
Gmpffff, not a good Bokke side if you ask me… specially the backline.
The only reason I think Ruan Pienaar is there, I think, is to measure him against Rory Kockott… for the future.
JP Pietersen at No 13, well that is a surprise… he’s been off form the whole bloody season for the Sharks on the wing.
Bryan Habana would not have made my starting 15, in his place I would have played the in form Lwazi Mvovo.
I am glad for Cornal Hendricks, he would have been my choice on right wing too.
I would have rested some of the overplayed players like Duane Vermeulen and Frans Steyn, in their place I would have played Schalla at No 8, Jan Serfontein at No 12, Juan de Jongh at No 13.
I would not even have had Ruan Pienaar on the bench and would have started with Fourie du Preez, with Hougie on the bench.
@Leon
Yep, very suspect backline.
If the World XV somehow get parity with our forwards, it could be an ugly result for us.
We saw with the Sharks this year, they conquer all when their forwards dominate, but when the Highlanders and Stormers matched them, they came short. You don’t even have to be better than our forwards, just stop us from gaining ascendency and their backline will run rings around our mob
@3
GBS. After all this hulla-balloo about Frans, there was no way HM couldn’t not pick him.
Agree on JP, terrible so far this year, Pienaar, less said the better.
Ball won’t be going past Pienaar or Morne, and if by chance it does, Frans will boot the leather off it, so JP and the wings will only be there to try and stop their dangerous backs from playing
@ nortierd:
regardless of what happens. I highly doubt it would be a high scoring game eight way. morne could win it for us. .. Then again even if we do win with penalties. How hollow can a victory be?
If it’s a close game we won’t get to see fdp pay as a combo with goosen. Also no bench covet at centre either
Ha ha ha
Love this comment on 365
Tony • 12 minutes ago
I paid a lot of money for The Blood Brothers farewell dinner in London – a tribute to Bakkies and Victor. Do I get my money back?
why the hell is gurthro still in the set up?
there so many better, younger props around.
MB 6
I think the opposition will be trying to score some tries, they have a good backline.
Compare our backline to the one Australia picked, and start thinking about 3rd place in the RC
@ nortierd:
didn’t they day fransies knee will never heal? That will only leave him with the option to retire? He not only needs to be managed on Mondays. But also in game. He can’t possibly play 80 minutes as we could see against the stormers where another kicker would probably have sealed the deal.
@ nortierd:
cant really compare anything with the last sharks game though…
unless we play really really bad and the world xv plays really really bad all over the park and win the game in the last minute because we kicked the ball at them.
The only thing I can surmise about the make-up of the Bokke backline is that Heyneke Meyer feels he needs to test certain combinations in this game, rather than in a more important Test against Wales.
No centres on the bench… that is a worry!
Bokke could well lose this game against the World XV.
The World XV’s backline is freegin potent… all of them game breakers of note!
@11
Have you seen the backline HM picked.
Of course we are going to kick the ball back to them
This is the kind of game where you are in a no win situation. At best you beat them, as expected so no big deal. At worst you disapoint and possibly pick up some injuries.
I would have used the opportunity to play more of the fringe players, and certainly not JPP at 13.
@12
HM can surely learn nothing with this side?
The slowest scrumhalf on the planet, a 10 who can’t hold down 1st choice for his club, a 12 with dodgy knees who has been playing 10 most of the season, a 13 who is so off form and has been playing wing all season?
Nee wat, dis n kak kombinasie en n recipe vir disaster.
@ grootblousmile:
you can even go so far as the say the boks might even sneak this one as the underdogs.
In the forwards, the Springboks have the overplayed whole sharks front row, and the overplayed Willem Alberts & Duane Vermeulen… that is 5 of the 8 forwards overplayed and jaded.
THAT is a worry too!
@ nortierd:
morne cant hold down a starting spot but ruan is also one of the best players in europe lol (and we know how he disappoints for us)
@ grootblousmile:
but why does meyer need to rest them?
I say play them every single minute
After 5 minutes bring Fourie on, move Willie to 10, Percy to 15, Alberts and Vermeulen to 12 and 13 ( just to bring some speed and flair to the backline)
Maybe Heyneke knows something we don’t…. otherwise I cannot fathom what he intends to do with this side, what he aims to make sure of or prove!
Maybe Fourie du Preez, Hougie, Jan Serfontein & Juan de Jongh are carrying little niggles???
Maybe Schalla is also a bit suspect on the injury front.
Thank the heavens that this is a nothing game during a nothing test period.
Results don’t matter, but if HM even thinks about this lot against the AB’s or Aus, well, that’s a different matter.
@ grootblousmile:
good point. we dont know. but dont they release medical updates?
@22
Little niggles? We have a 12 who has a chronic injury, so surely little niggles is a blessing?
Jan and JdJ would have been a much better center combination
Bit shocked – would have played a total different 9-13.
Now we want to counter expansive Barbarian rugby with the most pedestrian, conservative and under performing (locally and abroad ) 9 to 13; especially 10 and 13
Hope Hendricks and Willie stand at 10 ans 12 on 4th phase ball if they want to see any
Big smiles to see Bakkies back
I hope kockott goes well. I was never convinced about him because of what we experienced with pienaar
@27
I have a feeling that if the choice was Kockott’s , he would choose to play Interantionals for France.
Will be interesting to see how he goes, and what the future holds for him.
From our side, I would have preferred Reinach at 9 ahead of Pienaar, can’t believe I said that out loud, lol.
Maybe HM knows what he is doing with this backline, and I hope they surprise us and who knows, maybe they play the world alight.
Rory will play/choose for France, I have no doubt about it.
What has SA done to show any interest in him
OK, we know JP Pietersen won’t be available for the Rugby Championship for the Bokke, due to his committments in Japan…. so I suppose Heyneke Meyer wants to see what JP Pietersen can do now, whilst still giving Cornal Hendricks a chance to establish himself at right wing… that might explain JP’s inclusion NOW at No 13.
Apparently Heyneke Meyer was worried about Fourie du Preez’ lack of recent game time, therefore choosing to bring him in from the bench in this game… so maybe that explains the scrumhalf situation to an extent.
Frans Steyn ahead of Jan Serfontein… I suppose the logical answer would be to play 2 Sharks next to one another… and possibly to see if Frans is ready to shape to the fullest for the Bokke with his half-injury situation. Better to test that now rather than later, I suppose.
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