Jean de Villiers
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has recovered from the knee injury which kept him out of the June Tests and is back in the national squad for the forthcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
De Villiers is one of six players returning from injury after missing the entire or a part of the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
The others are Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Frans Malherbe (prop), Eben Etzebeth (lock), Patrick Lambie (flyhalf / fullback) and Damian de Allende (centre).
De Allende, who was forced to withdraw from the squad in June because of a knee ligament injury, and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach are the only two uncapped players in the 30-man Springbok squad.
The national selectors have also retained four debutants from the June series for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship – Cornal Hendricks (wing), Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (loose forward), Lood de Jager (lock) and Handré Pollard (flyhalf).
“It’s great to have Jean back to lead the side in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Victor Matfield and Jan Serfontein both did superbly well in his absence, but he is our captain and I’m sure he will slot back into the side without any difficulty. The same goes for Eben, Frans and Patrick, all of whom have been part of the squad before.”
“We will medically assess all the players in the squad in Johannesburg next week. This will not only include the players who missed the June Tests because of injury, but also someone such as Mtawarira, who has been out of action for a while. We will deal with every player and his needs individually.”
Commenting on the inclusion of Hendricks, a recent gold medal winner in Sevens at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland, Mohoje, De Jager and Pollard, Meyer said: “These players have impressed from the first minute they joined us.”
“This is a step up for all of them, but that is the kind of challenge we thrive on.”
“It’s never easy cutting a squad down in size and we’re fortunate that we have a number of experienced players who will be on stand-by should their services be needed.”
Meyer said he is looking forward to the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, which kicks off on Saturday 16 August when Australia host New Zealand in Sydney and the Springboks take on Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (kick-off at 17:00 SA Time). The Springbok squad will gather in Johannesburg for a pre-competition camp from 4 to 8 August and then again on 10 August in Pretoria, where they will prepare for the Test against Argentina.
“We’ve been steadily improving over the past two years but another step-up is needed this season,” said Meyer. “It’s been a theme for us since the start of the season and we must simply keep on accelerating in the coming two months. We’ve set ourselves some goals for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and we’ll have to be focused and switched on from the moment we get together in Johannesburg.”
“Winning matches and scoring tries remain foremost in our minds. During the four matches in June, we scored 23 tries, which we were very happy with. I think we can be proud of the rugby we played against Wales and Scotland, but that is in the past now and we have a new competition to get ready for.”
“There are many good things we can build on from the June series, but also some things we need to work on if we’re going to be competitive in the coming months.”
“It’s a challenge we relish though and I can’t wait to get going.”
Two senior Springboks who will play in Japan in the coming months, JP Pietersen and Schalk Burger, were not considered for the start of the competition. They have to report to their respective clubs next week.
“Obviously the squad can change during the course of The Rugby Championship and although JP and Schalk were not considered at this stage, they could still feature later in the competition,” said Meyer.
Injured players who were not available for selection after featuring in 2013 or earlier in 2014, are Flip van der Merwe (knee), Pieter-Steph du Toit (knee), Arno Botha (knee), Pierre Spies (bicep), Fourie du Preez (ankle) and Jaque Fourie (ankle).
Springbok squad for The Rugby Championship 2014:
- Willem Alberts (Cell C Sharks) Loose forward, 32 Test caps
- Bakkies Botha (Toulon, France) Lock, 79 Test caps
- Schalk Brits (Saracens, England) Hooker, 7 Test caps
- Marcell Coetzee (Cell C Sharks) Loose forward, 16 Test caps
- Damian De Allende (DHL Western Province) Centre / Wing, uncapped
- Lodewyk de Jager (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Lock, 3 Test caps
- Jean de Villiers (captain, DHL Western Province) Centre, 96 Test caps
- Bismarck du Plessis (Cell C Sharks) Hooker, 60 Test caps
- Jannie du Plessis (Cell C Sharks) Prop, 54 Test caps
- Eben Etzebeth (DHL Western Province) Lock, 23 Test caps
- Bryan Habana (Toulon, France) Wing, 97 Test caps
- Cornal Hendricks (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Wing, 3 Test caps
- Francois Hougaard (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Scrumhalf, 28 Test caps
- Patrick Lambie (Cell C Sharks) Flyhalf / Fullback, 32 Test caps
- Willie le Roux (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Fullback / Wing, 15 Test caps
- Francois Louw (Bath, England) Loose forward, 30 Test caps
- Frans Malherbe (DHL Western Province) Prop, 2 Test caps
- Victor Matfield (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Lock, 113 Test caps
- Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Loose forward, 1 Test cap
- Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks) Prop, 55 Test caps
- Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks) Wing, 9 Test caps
- Trevor Nyakane (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Prop, 4 Test caps
- Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland) Scrumhalf, 76 Test caps
- Handré Pollard (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Flyhalf, 1 Test cap
- Cobus Reinach (Cell C Sharks) Scrumhalf, uncapped
- Jan Serfontein (Vodacom Blue Bulls) Centre, 12 Test caps
- Gurthrö Steenkamp (Toulouse, France) Prop, 51 Test caps
- Morné Steyn (Stade Francais, France) Flyhalf, 56 Test caps
- Adriaan Strauss (Toyota FS Cheetahs) Hooker, 34 Test caps
- Duane Vermeulen (DHL Western Province) No 8, 19 Test caps
@ nortierd:
Final score?
@ Pietman:
Gim 16- 15 Booishaai.
Boy’s High scored a converted try at the death to get close, too little too late
@ nortierd:
Phewww, thx.
@ MacroBull: good point Nortie. Very good point.
@ MacroBull: not just unpopular but insane.
Juan is a great player and any team would love him in their mix. But to consider him in place of Alberts at this stage is plain crazy. Alberts has age on his side and usually rises to the occasion. If Juan is to be considered at all, due to form, then I’d first stick him on the bench and see what develops from there. Superb player though.
@ nortierd:v that’s a shame. But a scoreline like that suggests it could have gone either way as we well know. Its just that history suggests that Gim win 90% of the time and a change is as good as a holiday. Corne will be depressed. 😥
@ Tassies:
In my humble opinion… Vermeulen and Alberts is to much of a muchness.
A fit Juan will add a new dimensions to the Bok loose forward combo.
I’m not saying throw him in immediately but if his fit going into the RWC, the Vermeulen, Smith & Flo combo will be our best option.
Alberts would be excellent as an impact player.
@ Tuff Gong:
What I do know – having listened to Heyneke speak last Thursday – is that Juan is very close to the Bok side. In the 30 players selected, he was only going to select 5 loosies. With Schalk playing in Japan and out of the picture for the moment, expect to see Juan next in line should there be injuries. And Alberts does tend to break down from time to time.
Wales V South Africa Saturday 29th November 2014.
See you then Jean!!
Meyer is nothing if not consistant and so it comes as no surprise that JDV is Captain or that the squad has a very familiar look to it, we should expect this. The only time where it will change is when injuries or a dramatic change of form happens.
Lood is now in the group, and PSDT is the big potential loser there, Eben will still be the 1st choice at as he should be.
I’m glad for Reinach although I think Charl has had the better season personally. But at the moment it’s ABR (anyone but Ruan) for me.
Pollard has leapfrogged Goosen, we’ll see how that goes, but good luck to all teh Bokke. May it be an injury free campaign, allowing Meye to pick the combos he really wants.
Stormersboy wrote:
@ Stormersboy:
Howzit mate. Agreed. It is now up to Reinach to grab every opportunity that comes his way and overtake Ruan in the Bok pecking order. Hougaard has slipped down the rankings and HM views him more as a wing now – and very much a back-up 9. I’d be surprised to see him make a Bok 23.
@ IAAS: lets hope so!
🙂
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