The selection of 8 uncapped players and the return of a further 6 are the features of the Springbok squad named on Saturday for the 5 matches leading up to the Rugby World Cup later this season.
In addition to the 36 squad members, the national selectors have identified 13 players who are currently injured or will be in rehabilitation, but will form part of an extended squad for the matches against the World XV, Castle Lager Rugby Championship and the Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
The uncapped players in the squad are Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Rudy Paige, Faf de Klerk, Jesse Kriel, Franco Mostert and Lionel Mapoe.
Back in the Springbok fold after not featuring in any Springbok Tests last year, are Elton Jantjies, Frans Steyn, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brüssow, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Heinke van der Merwe.
The currently injured players included in the squad are Springbok captain Jean de Villiers, Lionel Mapoe, Heinrich Brüssow, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Steyn, Coenie Oosthuizen, Lood de Jager, Duane Vermeulen, Cobus Reinach, Pat Lambie, Jaque Fourie, Jan Serfontein and Fourie du Preez. The latter suffered a knee injury while training with his Japanese club earlier this week.
“It’s a long list of injured players but all of them are in the selection frame and we’d like to work with them to assist with their rehabilitation,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Some of them are close to full fitness and they will start training as soon as possible. We’ll assess and manage all the injured players individually with their return to play in mind and will do what is the best for the player and the team, even if it means that some of them play for their clubs or provinces if deemed necessary by our medical team and in consultation with their unions.
“Coenie Oosthuizen has been selected, but he has a neck injury which will rule him out of joining the squad immediately. We will wait for medical clarity to ensure we do what is best for Coenie before a decision is made on the way forward.
“Even though Jaque Fourie announced that he had retired from Test rugby late last year, we have had positive talks with him and his club, Kobe in Japan, and an agreement was reached that he will be available for 1 last season of Test rugby. As soon as he’s back to full fitness, we’ll consider him for selection.
“Jean de Villiers’ rehabilitation is going very well but his return to play will be strictly monitored before an announcement in this regard is made.”
Scarra Ntubeni (hooker), Rudy Paige (scrumhalf) and Lionel Mapoe (outside back) have been part of Springbok tour squads before, but this will be the 1st involvement at international level for Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Franco Mostert (lock), Steven Kitshoff and Vincent Koch (both props).
Meyer added that Vodacom Super Rugby form weighed heavily and as always there were a number of players who were desperately close to selection, but just missed out in the end.
“This is testament to the great depth we’ve managed to build in most positions over the last few years. It’s good to know we have players outside this squad who will be able to slot in should it be necessary,” said the Springbok coach.
“Scarra has been with us before and he has done a great job specifically in the scrums with Vincent, Steven and Frans Malherbe for the DHL Stormers this year.
“Lionel, Franco, Faf and Elton have been part of the ever-improving Emirates Lions, while Rudy and Jesse grabbed their opportunities for the Vodacom Bulls this season.
Meyer added that he was pleased to have Heinke van der Merwe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Heinrich Brüssow, Frans Steyn and Jaque Fourie back with the Springboks.
“They are players with international experience and we know what they can do. It will be great to welcome them back into the Springbok fold and I know they will add value,” said the Springbok coach.
“It was great to see players such as Morné, Heinke, Bryan, Schalk Brits and Francois play in and win finals with their clubs in Europe.”
“We also talked to Andries Bekker as we wanted to consider him for selection, but upon a request from his club in Japan he was ultimately not picked for the squad at this stage. Hopefully he will be available at a later stage during the season.
“Flip van der Merwe was on our radar but ultimately he has decided to rule himself out of Springbok contention.”
Meyer said that he didn’t want to go into the 2015 Test season without exploring all options available to the Springboks.
“We will be guided by our medical team and specialists to ensure no stone is left unturned as we manage the injured players’ return to play. The players who have been included in the squad because of injuries to others must use this opportunity to break down the door to ensure they remain part of the squad as we look forward to the World Cup.
“As certain players regain fitness, others will be sent back to their provinces, but that doesn’t mean they are out of our thinking completely as the door to World Cup selection will never be fully closed. We talked to every player we thought could add value and considered every option available to us.
“The next 5 matches, before we finalise the squad for the Rugby World Cup, will be very important as we want to ensure the right 31 players are on the plane to England on 11 September.
“We have done a lot of planning and research and are well-prepared for the season. We’ll use the matches against the World XV, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to fine tune where necessary, but the next 2 months also provide the players with an opportunity to put themselves in contention to make the World Cup squad.”
The Springbok squad is (in alphabetical order):
- Willem Alberts (Cell C Sharks), Loose forward, 32 Test caps
- Schalk Brits (Saracens, England), Hooker, 7 caps
- Schalk Burger (DHL Stormers / Suntory, Japan), Loose forward, 75 caps
- Marcell Coetzee (Cell C Sharks), Loose forward, 26 caps
- Damian de Allende (DHL Stormers), Centre, 3 caps
- Faf de Klerk (Emirates Lions / Steval Pumas), Scrumhalf, 0 caps
- Bismarck du Plessis (Cell C Sharks), Hooker, 70 caps
- Jannie du Plessis (Cell C Sharks), Prop, 62 caps
- Eben Etzebeth (DHL Stormers), Lock, 33 caps
- Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions), Flyhalf, 2 caps
- Bryan Habana (Toulon, France), Wing, 106 caps
- Cornal Hendricks (Toyota Cheetahs), Wing, 11 caps
- Zane Kirchner (Leinster, Ireland), Wing / Fullback, 29 caps
- Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers), Prop, 0 caps
- Vincent Koch (DHL Stormers / Steval Pumas), Prop, 0 caps
- Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers), Loose forward, 10 caps
- Jesse Kriel (Vodacom Bulls), Fullback, 0 caps
- Willie le Roux (Toyota Cheetahs), Fullback / Wing, 25 caps
- Francois Louw (Bath, England), Loose forward, 34 caps
- Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Prop, 4 caps
- Victor Matfield (Vodacom Bulls), Lock, 121 caps
- Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (Toyota Cheetahs), Loose forward, 7 caps
- Franco Mostert (Emirates Lions), Lock, 0 caps
- Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks), Prop, 64 caps
- Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks), Wing, 10 caps
- Scarra Ntubeni (DHL Stormers), Hooker, 0 caps
- Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), Prop, 13 caps
- Rudy Paige (Vodacom Bulls), Scrumhalf, 0 caps
- Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland), Scrumhalf, 80 caps
- JP Pietersen (Cell C Sharks), Centre / Wing, 59 caps
- Handré Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Flyhalf, 9 caps
- Morné Steyn (Stade Francais, France), Flyhalf, 59 caps
- Adriaan Strauss (Vodacom Bulls), Hooker, 44 caps
- Heinke van der Merwe (Stade Francais, France), Prop, 4 caps
- Marcel van der Merwe (Vodacom Bulls), Prop, 4 caps
- Warren Whiteley (Emirates Lions), Loose forward, 2 caps
Injured / Conditioning squad:
- Heinrich Brüssow (Toyota Cheetahs / Docomo, Japan), Loose forward, 20 caps
- Lood de Jager (Toyota Cheetahs), Lock, 9 caps
- Jean de Villiers (DHL Stormers), Centre, 106 caps
- Fourie du Preez (Suntory, Japan), Scrumhalf, 70 caps
- Pieter-Steph du Toit (Cell C Sharks), Lock, 2 caps
- Jaque Fourie (Kobe, Japan), Centre, 72 caps
- Patrick Lambie (Cell C Sharks), Flyhalf / Fullback, 40 caps
- Lionel Mapoe (Emirates Lions), Centre, 0 caps
- Coenie Oosthuizen (Toyota Cheetahs), Prop, 21 caps
- Cobus Reinach (Cell C Sharks), Scrumhalf, 6 caps
- Jan Serfontein (Vodacom Bulls), Centre, 20 caps
- Frans Steyn (Cell C Sharks), Centre, 53 caps
- Duane Vermeulen (DHL Stormers), No 8, 29 caps
@ grootblousmile:
The thing though, going to a world cup with 8 uncapped players and 4 relatively inexperienced as your preferred 23 is similar to going to a poker tournament and playing a poker game with someone else’s money… nothing to lose… but i think most would not disagree with you those guys showed form.
In 2007 White played in the 3N with a B-team while the elite RWC players were prepared for the tournament.
In 2011 PdV played in the 3N with a B-team while the elite RWC players were prepared in Rustenburg by Rassie for the tournament.
Can one read any such likelihood into the selection of the wider squad? With many of his 1st choice players injured, winning the RC but a dream, what are the odds that we will see all the fringe players (3rd choice players) defending our honour in the RC while the real contenders for the RWC are being prepared/given time to heal for the tournament?
@ Stormersboy: I remember differently SB. Os more than held his own at the ’07 WC. On your own feed, if the scrum holds steady, you win. Our scrums that year, were what welded our game together and gave us front-foot ball. We won, you’ll recall. You don’t usually win with the scrum pedalling backwards.
@ grootblousmile: sound reasoning. I am a Scalla fan so I would agree then. But it definitely makes good sense.
@ Nama: not much Nama. And sorry we could not have that drink at my expense earlier in the month. Genuinely sorry. 😥
@ Victoriabok:
Sheridan was a LH, like OS. Nie waar nie?
I can remember two occasions where Sheridan absolutely destroyed the Aus scrum. One was at Twickenham and the other at the last RWC (if I’m not mistaken).Their starting LH (that telletubby guy known for his intercepts at one stage) as well as his replacement did not finish the match and it ended with uncontested scrums.
I can’t remember Os ever doing something similar to the same Aus scrum.
@ Tassies:
No problems. As I’ve said, it was highly improbable.
Still a good run for our team it was.
241 @ MacroPolo:
I’d cap the newbies now, and by Rugby World Cup they would have 5 Tests behind them…
Anyway, it’s immaterial who I would pick, because Heyneke Meyer is NOT going to follow that pattern… that we know!
So, I’ll put my trust in Heyneke Meyer and hope he has thought this through, properly!
@ Victoriabok: it wasn’t a bad team but I would never call it a great team(before they won the big one). They earned the “great team’ status.
This time round, we have a similiar bunch of players and in desperate need of some creativity from a management perspective.
248 @ grootblousmile:
How many coaches at international level would do that though?
Nama wrote:
Your team was awesome this year 😉
Difficult to criticise a squad when nearly every player is in it.
Except to say that the inclusion of Fransie disappoints me.
Very chuffed for Brussow. Not sure that he’ll make the final squad though.
@ MacroPolo:
That put your team’s performance into perspective, doesn’t it? 😕
@ Nama:
We were just below awesome
@ Nama: If I recall the last WC correctly, we nailed the Aus in every facet of the game except the scoreboard. The small details I cannot remember, due to the high blood pressure levels at the time and the frantic search for a machete to cull a certain match official.
250 @ MacroPolo:
Its what I would have done… and I am no International coach…
I do a lot of things differently in life compared to just following the herd… too much of an independent thinker, I suppose!
I’d expect Michael Chieka to make out of the Box decisions like that… he’s that type, maybe even a Mallett or a John Mitchell would also excite like that…
The conservative okes like Steve Hansen, Heyneke Meyer, England’s coach… no they won’t!
256 @ grootblousmile:
haha its not that you are exceptional, you just do not have anything to lose.
257 @ MacroPolo:
Does Heyneke Meyer seriously have too much to lose after a bad Super Rugby year… or does he have MUCH more to gain by being pro-active?
Think about that for a while… the safe choice or the innovative choice… safe, innovative… there are heaps more to gain from the innovative approach, because the safe approach is predictable!!
He could have been hailed a HERO with X-Ray vision, if he had just thought a little out of the box sometimes…
@ MacroPolo: who said this was going to be easy? 😕
@ grootblousmile:
Well I know that I am not such a revolutionary thinker, but I know that it is human nature to want to grasp and hope on miracles when things go badly (Look at Greece), but surely its not as clear and simple to solve…
Meyers four year tenure has now geared up to this, or even Hansen, there is no way they would strip everything and start from scratch (Hansons advantage though, the NZ sides did so well he does not have to), Cheika is in the advantage that he was essentially handed a poisoned chalice last year, so I am sure they do not expect miracles from him, so he will take a few risks.
@ grootblousmile: GB you are a natural entrepreneur bud. read: a risk-taker. Springbok coaches are corporate animals by nature. With one(okay two) very distinct exception. One, Harry Viljoen. And he lasted a matter of days with his extraordinarily creative approach to Test rugby. “you’re not allowed to kick Monty, until I give the signal”. But I still admired Harry for his ingenuity. Apologies folk. there was one other. A certain Carel Dup. Both WP boys. We must grow them ‘different’. Carel flattened the Oz during his swan-song remember.
@ grootblousmile:
That said, it would be nice if Meyer took a few risks, but 8 new caps is unprecedented.
261 @ Tassies:
We should make room for Carel in SA Rugby
260 @ MacroPolo:
I have to think NEW every day… that’s what I do.
You have to work hard for miracles… and you have to make the right choices for miracles to manifest…
I think we both agree that Doc Jannie is past his best, so I think the Frans Malherbe choice makes perfect sense. For me, hoping that Willem Alberts WILL shape, is not good enough… so I’d think outside the box and reward absolute form.
Fourie du Preez is now injured, I would have wanted him to start, so once again I go out of the box…
But Heyneke will win or fail with HIS choices and I’ll stick by him!
@ grootblousmile: exactly right. I’m in your corner on this one GB. Probably worse than you. Natural risk-taker.
@ grootblousmile:
and luckily you dont have to 🙂 risk takers don’t last long in rugby
@ MacroPolo: I’m your corner-man on that one. Carel was a genius(at rugby). But that’s what we need. A Carel Dup could transform our backline into world-beaters. I have little doubt about that.
261 @ Tassies:
I’ve paid some expensive school fees in my time, but I’ve also reaped some fine rewards.
In general I’m not a blind risk taker… too pragmatic for that… but a well-calculated risk and a new train of thought, has almost always been rewarding!
@ MacroPolo: seeming not. But that might be the apex of the problem for us. Think on it. Even Jake was a risk-taker. Remember Eddie.
@ grootblousmile: to lose is a lesson. I’ve learnt that much. If you don’t lose you’re not trying hard enough. A cliche certainly but one which bares more truth than fiction.
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