Cheslin Kolbe
Springbok coach, Heyneke Meyer, has announced 2 sets of 44 players to participate in training camps in May and June in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively.
The squads include a total of 19 uncapped players, including rising stars Jesse Kriel, Vincent Koch, Cheslin Kolbe and Bongi Mbonami.
Players that are currently injured but invited include Heinrich Brüssow, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jean de Villiers and Pat Lambie.
Suspended Sharks player Frans Steyn was not invited due to not making himself available to play for the Springboks.
While no overseas based players were considered for the training camps the greater squad gives good idea of who is on Meyers radar for the upcoming inbound Tests and later in the year the Rugby World Cup.
The 1st training camp will take place on 3 – 6 May and will not feature any Cell C Sharks players due to touring commitments. The 2nd training camp will not include any Vodacom Bulls players and will run from 31 May to 3 June.
Springbok Training Squads:
Johannesburg Camp (no Sharks players) 3-6 May:
Forwards: Arno Botha, Ruan Botha, Heinrich Brüssow, Schalk Burger, Nizaam Carr, Robbie Coetzee, Lood de Jager, Jacques du Plessis, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Dean Greyling, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Lappies Labuschagne, Frans Malherbe, Victor Matfield, Oupa Mohoje, Trevor Nyakane, Scarra Ntubeni, Coenie Oosthuizen, Pierre Spies, Adriaan Strauss, Marcel van der Merwe, Duane Vermeulen, Warren Whiteley.
Backs: Bjorn Basson, Demetri Catrakilis, Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh, Faf de Klerk, Jean de Villiers, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Hougaard, Elton Jantjies, Jesse Kriel, Pat Lambie, Willie le Roux, Lionel Mapoe, Rudy Paige, Handré Pollard, Jan Serfontein, Kobus van Wyk, Francois Venter.
Cape Town Camp (no Bulls players) 31 May to 3 June:
Forwards: Willem Alberts, Ruan Botha, Heinrich Brüssow, Schalk Burger, Nizaam Carr, Marcell Coetzee, Robbie Coetzee, Lood de Jager, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jean Deysel, Eben Etzebeth, Lizo Gqoboka, Ryan Kankowski, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Oupa Mohoje, Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Scarra Ntubeni, Coenie Oosthuizen, Michael Rhodes, Duane Vermeulen, Warren Whiteley.
Backs: Demetri Catrakilis, Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh, Faf de Klerk, Jean de Villiers, Nic Groom, Cornal Hendricks, Elton Jantjies, Cheslin Kolbe, Pat Lambie, Willie le Roux, Lionel Mapoe, Lwazi Mvovo, JP Pietersen, Cobus Reinach, Kobus van Wyk, Francois Venter.
I suppose such a wide selection says more about the players not included than those who are, a couple of Lions players may feel aggrieved at not being selected, but well done to guys like Koch, who has been a revelation this year.
Kolbe??? Why choose him when you know that a training camp is the closest he will get to being a springbok. Quotas at work? Lizo??? Yep quotas at work. Thank God Steyn has kept his word and wont be comming back. We might stand a chance now.
The more the merrier?
PdV started that Boks’ selection circus but he was fairly careful in retrospective compared to HM who pulls all stops? 😉
Kolbe is one thing but Dean Greyling??
Just goes to show how thing things get beyond the first few choices.
Taking the loosehead position, players likely to play before Dean:
Beast
Trevor
Kitshoff
Coenie (maybe)
So no need to panic yet.
Players likely to play before Kolbe:
Willie
Kriel
Pat Lambie (Maybe)
The back line players selected by HM for the two training camps and the positions they usually play in for their franchise during this SR season in no particular order of preference. What are the odds that the players will be selected in their specialist position by His Meyerness for the Boks?
Full back: Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe; Jesse Kriel
Right wing: Cornal Hendricks; JP Pietersen; Francois Hougaard
Outside centre: Juan de Jongh; Lionel Mapoe
Inside centre: Jean de Villiers; Damian de Allende; Jan Serfontein; Francois Venter
Left wing: Bjorn Basson; Kobus van Wyk; Lwazi Mvovo
Flyhalf: Demetri Katrakilis: Elton Jantjies; Pat Lambie; Handre Pollard
Scrum half: Faf de Klerk; Rudy Paige; Nic Groom; Cobus Reinach
Flok, ek is lekker lui vandag!
Wil julle bietjie nuwe rugby nuus hê?
Wel, flok julle, ek rus nou lekker… hehehe
@ Nama:
No JJ Engelbrecht despite him running around with a Bok contract earning all that money every month…
No Frans Steyn…that’s good.
@ Nama:
Well jj is one of those players you refered to the other day as being assured of selection just because he has a bok contract.
Very surprised flip wasnt invited.
@ Nama: well yes Nama. But JJ did some good things in the past with more recent form slipping a tad
@ MacroBull: ditto MB. One wonders what he whispered to Meyer that he pissed him off so
@ Tassies:
Jj was the most dangerous attacking center in the country with a strike rate that put other centers to shame. But really deserves not being part of the bok setup the last two years that has pretty much been an embarassement to him.
@ Tassies:
Must be something aweful because meyer picks bulls players before anyone else 😀
12… In 2013
@ grootblousmile: tjou luigat 😆
@ MacroBull: pretty much how I remember it. Some great tries for the Boks.
@ MacroBull: which is true. So it makes even less sense.
@ Tassies:
Anyway he is and shohldnt be part of the conversation at this stage deservedly so…i think people should move on now after 3 years and let go of their grudges.
What do you make of the Sharks situation MB? Half the amount of Boks in the ‘trials’ as the Stormers for starters. Talk about a fall from grace.
and where does one look for answers? The CEO perhaps? Or are they just ‘building’ (a new future)? Too many questions and too few answers.
@ MacroBull:
Maybe it slipped HM’s mind.
@ Tassies:
Sharks are just having some grow pains and it happens to all of our teams. If i was smit id insist on lakbie being the captain now with a 2-3 year goal as some of their big name players are bound to leav e them at the end of tthe season.
skipping back to that centre thing…….
I’ve personally always been a JdJ fan. When he’s playing outside a 12 he knows and trusts, he can be and usually is, real dynamite. Also not lacking on defence one must add. Punches well above his weight(and height). I like him for the Bok run-on, alongside either one of JdV or DdA. Whoever’s not broken.
@ Nama: ja right
@ MacroBull: Personally, I think there’s something else at play. I have no inside track so its pure speculation; but….my mind is thinking a salad of JS, Biz, Jannie all tossed together is not tasting as fresh as it used to. Something like that anyway. Rule one: looks at your tighthead. He not happy. You lose.
@ Tassies:
In a defense orientated gameplan jdj is a safe bet, but people dont seem to like. That sort of gplan… If we need a balanced approach it has to be mapoe… But i would really like to seeserfontein getting gametime at 1, for the bulls now
@ Tassies:
You cant pinpoint one thing. But the world cup might be a factor. In 2011 the senior bulls players were incredibly disappointing.. As they were saving themselves for the WC.
if you guys don’t talk to me, I should be getting out. But its flucking hot/humid out, even at 9 at night and a beer costs what a bottle of decent wine costs back home. This is my 15th visit to HK and I’ve never felt the pain in the pocket like I’m absorbing this trip. Our currency is at a really low ebb boys. Real low. What has Zuma done to us?
@ MacroBull: that is a very good point and one I hadn’t thought of. Makes perfect sense now. Our captain’s track record around WC’s is a case in point.
@ Tassies:
I dont think zuma has that kind of power. Its more than likely industry driven/manipulation?… But thats a whooooole other topic 😀
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