Springbok coach Peter de Villiers on Friday named a 24-man squad featuring several players returning from injury rehabilitation for the home leg of the Castle Tri-Nations series. Six players remain on the injured list and unavailable for selection, although three of them will join the squad in Durban to continue their rehabilitation.
The Springboks play Australia at Mr Price Kings Park on August 13 before meeting New Zealand at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth a week later.
Nine of the players who appeared in the away leg of the Series have been retained, led by captain John Smit.
“We still have a number of injury concerns but the majority of the players who were in rehabilitation have recovered well and are now available for selection,” said De Villiers.
Schalk Burger (hand), Juan Smith (Achilles) and Willem Alberts (shoulder) will be part of the squad but are not fit enough to be in contention for the match against Australia, said De Villiers. A fourth looseforward – Heinrich Brüssow – would be assessed with a view to joining the squad, following his planned appearance for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in the Absa Currie Cup on Saturday.
Lock forward Johann Muller remains on the injured list and with Andries Bekker ruled out of the Rugby World Cup tournament, Test newcomer Gerhard Mostert is named in the squad. The 26-year-old made his Test debut against New Zealand a fortnight ago.
“It’s very satisfying to see that Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha have now largely overcome their injuries but they still require management as we have a shortage of fit locks at the moment,” said de Villiers.
“We also have injury problems among the looseforwards but I am hopeful that all of the four who are not currently in the playing squad will be ready for selection by the time of the World Cup.”
The squad will assemble in Durban on Sunday. A media schedule follows shortly.
Springbok Squad for Tests versus Australia (August 13) and New Zealand (August 20)
| BACKS | Province/Club | Caps |
| Gio Aplon | DHL Western Province | 14 |
| Frans Steyn | Racing Metro, France | 42 |
| JP Pietersen | The Sharks | 36 |
| Bryan Habana | DHL Western Province | 68 |
| Jaque Fourie | DHL Western Province | 62 |
| Juan de Jongh | DHL Western Province | 8 |
| Jean de Villiers | DHL Western Province | 67 |
| Morne Steyn | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 27 |
| Butch James | MTN Golden Lions | 40 |
| Ruan Pienaar | Ulster, N Ireland | 49 |
| Fourie du Preez | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 55 |
| Francois Hougaard | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 8 |
| FORWARDS | ||
| Pierre Spies | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 40 |
| Jean Deysel | The Sharks | 3 |
| Danie Rossouw | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 56 |
| Bakkies Botha | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 72 |
| Victor Matfield | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 105 |
| Gerhard Mostert | Stade Francais, France | 1 |
| John Smit (captain) | The Sharks | 104 |
| Bismarck du Plessis | The Sharks | 36 |
| Tendai Mtawarira | The Sharks | 26 |
| Jannie du Plessis | The Sharks | 24 |
| Gurthrö Steenkamp | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 31 |
| CJ van der Linde | MTN Golden Lions | 71 |
Players not considered for selection due to injury were: Schalk Burger (hand), Juan Smith (Achilles), Andries Bekker (ankle), Willem Alberts (shoulder), Johann Muller (hamstring) and Duane Vermeulen (knee).
Issued by SARU Communications
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Biggest shocks so far:
No Lambie
No Mvovo
No Adi
No Stegmann
Hallow molly
@molly (Comment 1) : yep no 3DPat….
1DMorne in the mix though
Yeah this thread is now posted, unfortunately I’ve already had my rant on the Du Plessis Brothers thread!
@Megatron (Comment 3) : Someone should borrow PDV 3D glasses and make him watch the next Bok rugby match with them on!
@molly (Comment 1) : Well the Stegmann non-inclusion is good! But unfortunately for every good choice PDV makes – 3 bad ones go along with it
Sorry guys, a little swamped under at work, woulda been up quicker if not, promise.
No Stegman!!!
But Lambie especially can count himself unlucky, I think Victor is still whispering in Snor’s ear.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 6) : Yeah, not great. Lambie should be there for sure, I’d love to see him alongside FdP.
Our loose trio is VERY unbalanced… this is not a well chosen squad
Updated the post to show number of Bok caps and provinces as well, if you guys are into that
Seems a waste of a cap to have brought McCleod on for 2 minutes last week.
So that’s 24 of the WC squad so far who will be the other. 6 Juan Smith, Burger, Brussow and Chillyboy will go that leaves 2 more players will probably be backs. Lambie? Jacobs? Mvovo? Basson? Olivier? Zayne?
@CS (Comment 10) : Snor is most probably holding out for Brussouw.
@KingRiaan (Comment 8) : And Smit is in the other ear!
Smit says, “No Stegmann, Steyn or Olivier”
Matfield says, “No Lambie, Mvovo or Jacobs”
Unfortunately PDV is more scared of Matfield than Smit…
With Hougaard as Scrumhalf/wing cover, I would have picked Lambie over Pienaar… he could’ve covered flyhalf, centre & fullback and would’ve got some much needed experience!
imo Pienaar has proved he can’t do it… they should have given Lambie a chance to prove he can.
@Mutley (Comment 12) : You left Alberts off that list… one of the SA players of the Superugby tournament, but I get the feeling he’s going to loose out
Two Lions in the squad
@CS (Comment 10) : deysel 6 rossouw 7 spies 8
@molly (Comment 11) : A stat I have always wanted to see alongside the number of caps is the number of minutes played by a player.
For example, Matfield has more caps than Smit but who has played the most during those caps? Has Matfield played more minutes or Smit?
@CS (Comment 16) : And Lambie!
You’d think after 3 and a half years of Snorism I couldn’t be shocked anymore but I was mistaken… yet again!
@Mutley (Comment 17) : Both originally from bigger, better unions!
@Megatron (Comment 3) : I reckon there’s one of two things that have happened here:
1. Either they rate Lambie and know he’s in for sure and are giving Morne another last last chance.
or.
2. They’re really hoping Morne will find his form and are hoping to play him into it like they tried Habana.
Seems like Lambie covers all the positions Frans Steyn does. It’s a pity PdV didn’t opt for the former.
@molly (Comment 22) : The way PDV thinks it is more than likely to be the second one.
@Megatron (Comment 18) : Are you implying that’s balanced?
Where’s the fetcher in that combo? 3 Brick-shithouses doing the pick-and-drive all afternoon? Not very enterprising imo
@molly (Comment 22) : I honestly can’t see them dropping Morné Steyn. They’re thinking clutch kicker in a tight game – Steyn is the man.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 19) : finding those stats is sooo hard. I hope Smitty has more minutes.
@beet (Comment 23) : Frans Steyn can also play wing and has a bigger boot.
I don’t think Lambie should replace Steyn with a F but rather the Steyn with the M!
Kings 17 Valke 3 halftime
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 4) : you should always rant on the appropriate thread
@molly (Comment 27) : It would be back breaking work going through every match, seeing what time subs came on, etc.
Damn im not gonna volunteer for that job!!!
@molly (Comment 22) : Apparently they’re still trying that option with Habana
@robdylan (Comment 30) : Sometimes its difficult when the appropriate thread isn’t up yet!
@CS (Comment 32) : What do you expect from De Villiers??
@CS (Comment 25) : no, pdv beat australia without fetchers in 2008
@CS (Comment 25) : That is if the Boks get the ball at all!
@molly (Comment 27) : I doubt it though… Smit has often been subbed, but Matfield seldom to my recollection
@Megatron (Comment 35) : The Australian team was yet to mature in 2008!
@CS (Comment 37) : Remember the Jake White era though, Smit played a lot of games back then.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 34) : After Chilliboy’s little cameo last weekend I’d rather see him on the wing than Habana
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 39) : But then again, so did Matfield…
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 39) : Yes, but they’ve both got the same number of caps… so I reckon Matfield will have more minutes? (ie on average per cap)
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 28) : Fourie, de Villiers and Hougaard can also play wing.
Honestly I don’t get the Frans Steyn hype.
F.Steyn and Q.Cooper started out at about the same time making the same airhead mistakes. Cooper’s now become a top notch player while F.Steyn is still struggling to make decent decisions on the field.
i get the feeling some here are more concerned abput seeing lambie in the bok team than seeing the bok team succeed
@CS (Comment 40) : Ralepalle is putting on the goods at the right time. Just needs to work on his lineout throwing which is much weaker than Smit’s or Bismark’s!!!
Bok hookers:
1. Smit
16. Du Plessis
23. Ralepelle
Good depth over their – some might say that the depth is even better than the starter!
@CS (Comment 42) : According to the table above Matfield has one cap over Smit
Matfield definitely has more minutes.
@Megatron (Comment 44) : No we are more concerned for the Bok team to succeed which is WHY we need Lambie!!!
@Megatron (Comment 44) : I’m seeing Lambie as part and parcel of a success story. But my first priority would be for the Boks to succeed.
@Megatron (Comment 35) : Well there we go then… silly me
I wonder if PDV has considered that those might have been the days before Pocock made an appearance?
After all the work Rassie’s supposedly been doing I just feel disappointed that we seem to be gearing up for the same old “tried & tested” kick-and-chase… very one-dimensional
If not FS who do you play at Fullback
@beet (Comment 43) : I agree with you 100%. F Steyn didn’t little to help the Boks last year in the Tri-Nations – just shows you what the European game does to you!!!
@Mutley (Comment 50) : LAMBIE!!!!
@CS (Comment 49) : 2008 was in the days when 10-man rugby still worked! Times have changed since 2010.
Lambie is not a fullback he is a flyhalf
@molly (Comment 1) : Biggest shock is no Lambie.
There were only really two stand out players on the away tour and Lambie was one of them with Deysel. Then the other shock is Chili. Mostert was a call up and he played very well in the last game.
But to have Morne instead of Lambie is crazy. Anyhow rather see Lambie in a Bok team next year with better coaches with more exciting game plan.
@beet (Comment 48) : The two go hand-in-hand in my opinion – The Boks need Lambie to win, of course that isn’t the sole factor but we won’t do it with Steyn at flyhalf!!!
My first choice loose trio + reserve for the WC match-day 22 would be the 4 injured loosies… what are the chances of Spies ever being dropped though? Matfield won’t allow Stegmann & Spies to be dropped.
@Puma (Comment 55) : No I disagree on the last point. Playing Lambie now in the Bok team will give him a very good idea of what doesn’t work and what doesn’t work!!!
Experience is invaluable, even if gained in a bad situation!
@CS (Comment 57) : Or Blondie, or kick-a-lot.
Well, at least this team should be more competitive than the poor lambs who went.
@Megatron (Comment 44) : Come now Transie. You think we gonna succeed with Morne? I would be worried now if Butch got those knees injured. Cause then we will have Morne to start. Heck he was terrible on tour and last year too.
We need Butch to stay injury free these two home 3N games.
Valke 3 Kings 24 48min
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 58) : When the going gets tough the tough gets going – by the way Lambie doesn’t even flinch under a high ball I’d say he is tough!
Kings 24 Valke 8 50min
@Mutley (Comment 54) : Are you serious? Where did Lambie make his Superugby debut?
Kings 24 Valke 15 52min
@Megatron (Comment 44) : If the kick-and-chase is our WC game plan, then I guess Morne should be the man… we’ll be lucky to get past Ireland of course, but at least we’ll have the right man to fit the game plan.
Lambie struggled at FB against the Bulls and Saders while he dominated at FH in almost every game that’s why
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 58) : Look I would love to see Lambie going to the world cup. BUT it seems he is not. So then rather see him playing the game he knows and plays better in next years Boks. Rather than this kick and chase game that don’t suit his style.
But still would have liked him to get a chance to tour. He DESERVED it. One of our stand out players on tour and just left behind. Really feel for him.
My feeling PdV never started Lambie at fh to see how he could play there, but rather needed him to play there to see how Morne could handle fb. Now we know Morne can’t handle fb at all. But we have Aplon, Fransie and Ruan that cover that position. Hougaard covers wing, outside centre and scrummie. Ruan covers, scrummie and fh. Morne can ONLY play fh and not that well. So we better hope Butch stays injury free.
So I guess we won’t see Lambie going not even as a utility player. I would have taken him. Cause the positions he covers he plays equally well at. The other names I mentioned can play one position well and the other they can cover, but not as well as their prefered position.
Anyhow feel for Lambie. Think he was used. Then all the others were too to allow this Bok team to rest up.
Valke 15 Kings 29 56min
@CS (Comment 67) : My word that is dumb logic but unfornately it is the kind that De Villiers operates with!
@Mutley (Comment 68) : Lambie never struggled at FB against the Bulls
@Mutley (Comment 68) : You never watched 2010 Super Rugby… or maybe the Super 15 season was so long that it has erased all of your other rugby memories
Okay cheers everyone. Catch later when the Sharks game is on.
Go Sharks.
@Puma (Comment 72) : My thoughts exactly and I hardly think that one intercept in the Crusaders match can make one say that Lambie had a kak game… really!
@Mutley (Comment 68) : @Puma (Comment 72) : The only thing Lambie struggles with is probably his dad’s razor
Lambie was caught out of position against the Bulls that led to their tries I’m not saying he is a bad FB I’m saying he is a much better FH where he should stay and not be moved around if they keep him at FH and only at FH in 3/4 years he will make Carter and Cooper look like u/9 reserves
@Mutley (Comment 64) : if we win this, we going top of the table
@Megatron (Comment 78) : Where are they playing. Kings should take it easily.
Kings FB SP Marias really impressed me so far
In Brakpan Kings 29 Valke 15 75min
Kings 29 Valke 20 77min
Valke 20 Kings 36 Fulltime
@Salmonoid (Comment 79) : valke’s homeground
@Mutley (Comment 83) : what the hell happened to that score? did solly take out some personel?
The Valke just started to play rugby and keep ball in hand the Kings reserves played good
I will be at King’s Park next week supporting the Bokke, because I’m a Saffa, and it’s the right thing to do…
BUT, naturally I am disappointed that the players who stood out head and shoulders above their colleagues in the away leg of the Tri-Nations will not have the chance to cement their places in the RWC 2011 squad in the upcoming tests.
So. Let’s hold our collective breath for a potentially numbing 1D performance from our “A” team and just hope and pray that Butch James gets a start at flyhalf to inject at least a little virility into an otherwise flaccid midfield and uninspiring backline.
If he’s yellow carded or his knees give up the ghost, Lord help us.
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 87) :
If that’s the case a certain Tony Brown will be watching!
Am I the only one who thinks (hopes) that this squad will lose a few players before the RWC to make space for others?
Bambie for President!!!!
Hope Frans Steyn is in a better condition than when he joined the Bokke to play Wales…
Surprised that Lambie is excluded….
And De Jongh was included….
@molly (Comment 1) :
Mvovo / Stegman / Adi no shocks…
Actually the shock was Stegman making the team in the first place…lol
@Hmmm (Comment 93) : stegmann is the next best thing SA has if brussow is out…
Good news for us is that we now have Lambie for the CC.
I know he was no match for Earl Rose but he`ll still be usefull to us against the minnows of this competition like the Bulls.
How to accommodate both him and Michalak though?
@Megatron (Comment 94) :
That does not say much for the fetching talent in SA….
@Hmmm (Comment 96) : well, we’re not alone, besides mcCaw who is has been the standard in the world, who does new zealand have even remotely close to that class? Matt Todd, Luke & Daniel Braid, Adam Thomson – all of them not vastly better than steggies.
In Aus too they’re in the same boat, besides Pocock, who else is knocking the door, beau robinson, matt hodgson?
@Megatron (Comment 97) : Sucks that Brussow keeps getting injured!