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.
Die grootste tragedie is dat Mallet nie daarin kkon slaag om Brussow in sy span te kry nie.
Guthrow … OMG!!!!
@ nortierd:
Nortie we have to be sincerely honest with ourselves here…
How should we expect the boks the play exciting “attacking” rugby when none of our franchises have played that way successfully this year?
We all agree anonymously that our franchise players lack skills, but now we expect that the Springboks will magically turn everything around? I am just as upset as you are about the backline we selected, but why do we suddenly expect them to be a try scoring machine?
No matter what people say about this being a nothing game and Meyer should try new players etc, it is mostly those people that will crucify Meyer for losing vs Mallet… Winning is everything, and looking at the sharks at the top, all we have as South Africans is our forwards anyway, we just need our defense to compliment that for now.
unanimously
And on a different note; just look at this scum…
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/bike-jackers-caught-on-helmet-camera-1.1698870#.U5BHIHKSyA9
@ BrumbiesBoy:
a luger??
lol I like the ending of the article mentioning those keyboard warriors. what pricks. “fight off people with guns”
Just out of interest… the average age for the old timers springbokke is 29.3 years
the young vibrant all blacks has an average of 28 years old
In the 23 man match day squads.
World 15 to play The Boks
World XV – 15 James O’Connor, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Subs: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Stanley Benson.
Damn good side this
@MB 92
Agree, and my gripe with the team is not the older players, far from it.
I would have preferred not seeing Habana and Pienaar there, and not have seen JP at 13
Last year we did score a lot of tries, but this backline doesn’t instill confidence at all
@ nortierd:
And the Hore on the bench!
Hehehe
Long live the Hore
This is a real banana peel game for the Bokke.
If we are going to be relying on goal kicks to scrape this game, we might come second.
How accurate is Morne lately? We know he missed a kick that cost his team, but not sure how much he played and kicked since last year.
Frans has the knee injury, and the reason he is in the side is not because of his brilliance on attack, or his fluid passing game, we all know that’s non existent, he is only there to slot 55-60m penalties, but can he while injured?
They have Kockott, a proven match winner with the boot in the type of conditions expected for the game, plus Gitteau for back up.
I’m not sure we will even squeak this one by kicks
Mallett in all likelihood will ask Gitau to run the slow aging Boks Forwards off their feet, Mallett has the backs to do it.
He doesn’t have a Test quality forwards though so he probably hopes that Morne Styen will kick the ball away each and every time?
@ nortierd:
101
Who is the referee?
Hondo wrote:
Morne won’t be kicking every ball away, those he doesn’t kick Ruan or Frans will kick
Hondo wrote:
Thinks it’s an Irishman, maybe Clancy?
Really like the look of that World XI. With a bit of luck they’ll still play a Baa Baa’s style of rugby and bring a bit of entertainment to what is otherwise going to be a bash crash kick long afternoon.
nortierd wrote:
Clancy had some VERY GOOD performances in some high profile NH games of late.
From SA Ref’s website:
South Africa vs World XV Referee: George Clancy (Ireland) Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Quinton Immelman …
I see the junior boks have selected the kriel brothers at center.
wish I didn’t have to come to work tomorrow
@ Scrumdown:
clancy was the ref when we clobbered the aussies into submission in brisbane last year
Ruan……………………………………..Ruin more likely.
And then Fourie du Pensioner on the bench.
.
Don’t you Fukkers ever learn.
Where are Hougaard and Sarel
Fourie and Kevin will share retirement fund trends later in the 4 Nations
Hougie on the bench and Sarel injured long ago…
Eastern Province Kings team to face Wales has been announced quite early: 15 Hansie Greeff, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Scott van Breda, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Devin Oosthuizen, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Darron Nell (capt), 3 Charl du Plessis, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements: 16 Albe de Swardt, 17 BG Uys, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Steven Cummins, 20 Stefan Willemse, 21 Jaco Grobler, 22 Dwayne Jenner, 23 Ntabeni Dukisa
@Bullscott
Evening, the Scottish group and team to face the USA, are they the strongest available and what do you think of them?
Surely they should be better than America, even if they are playing away?
And the Irish squad in Argentina, how far off are they from the side that won the 6 nations? Without BOD, that is
Books to lose by 10 then?
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