The Bok side to take on Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday has been announced – featuring an incredible 8 changes to the outfit that faced Italy at the weekend.
Lwazi Mvovo is the big winner, coming in to start at left wing for Bryan Habana, who has had to return to Toulon for club duty. Other foreign-based Boks to fall out of the squad this week are Johan Goosen, Gurthrö Steenkamp and JP Pietersen.
Cornal Hendricks starts for Pietersen at right wing, with Wille le Roux completing an all-new back three as he replaces Goosen. The balance of the backline remains intact, with Pat Lam bie and Cobus Reinach each afforded a third successive start.
Up front, Beast Mtawarira and Bismarck du Plessis return to the starting lineup for Trevor Nyakane and Adriaan Strauss respectively, both of whom will play off the bench. Coenie Oosthuizen at tighthead retains his place, as do the rest of the pack that started in Padova.
On the bench, Damian de Allende comes back into the frame, with Julian Redelinghuys and Nizaam Carr both retained after making their debuts last week.
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux 14 Cornal Hendricks 13 Jan Serfontein 12 Jean de Villiers (capt) 11 Lwazi Mvovo 10 Pat Lambie 9 Cobus Reinach 8 Duane Vermeulen 7 Teboho Mohoje 6 Marcell Coetzee 5 Victor Matfield 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Coenie Oosthuizen 2 Bismarck du Plessis 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss 17 Trevor Nyakane 18 Julian Redelinghuys 19 Lodewyk de Jager 20 Nizaam Carr 21 Francois Hougaard 22 Handré Pollard 23 Damian de Allende
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Pretty solid side. My concerns at 7 and 3 but cant always agree with a coach. There is a strong front row on the bench however. Will be interested to see if Hougaard/Pollard get any meaningful game time this week as its the last game up north before RWC
Interesting that he retained Reinach and Lambie as starters. I thought he planned to rotate both 10’s. Hope Pat makes most of the opportunity.
@Bokhoring (Comment 2) : Hougaard and Pollard were put in the naughty corner after the Irish game…
YAY!!!!! HM is using his head re Reinach/Lambie combo – with game time they will be given a chance to reach their potential. However I also hope they take the chance with both hands – safe hands! Glad to see Lwazi given a start! Lambie has a good head and could be a calming influence on Reinach.
@SheldonK (Comment 3) : It Looks like it. I’m glad that Lambie got These chances, but must still say that I think we have two good 10’s there…I’m pretty happy with both of them and, without being personal or anything, glad that Morne Steyn seems to be out of the picture…
sigh …….
@Zibbie (Comment 6) : ?
Rob, I’m sure he’d appreciate the creativity but not sure Tendai would like the nickname ‘Beat’. I think Beast is just more fitting
@StevieS (Comment 7) :
Lions players enjoying a nice European holiday
@pastorshark (Comment 5) : yeh very happy with the 4 of them. They need to be kept in place for as long as possible. @Zibbie (Comment 9) : I hear Jaco Kriel makes some fantastic oranges for the guys…
When last has Mvovo featured in a Bok match-day squad (bench or starting)?
@Zibbie (Comment 9) : I wanted to see Kriel get game time, but Heyneke doesn’t believe in handing out caps.
@StevieS (Comment 12) : Jacques Potgieter,Gurthro,Piet van Zyl to name a few!hehe
Cant wait to see Mvovo in action! Almost fell of my chair when i read CR and Lambighini’s names for 9 and 10,was actually expecting them to be rotated,great news!
@BarendL (Comment 13) :
he doesnt believe in handing out caps to none blue bulls players 😛
Just one completely off topic question. Which Sharks that are playing overseas will be recalled for the super rugby season?
Nice to see continuity for Pat and Cobus at 10, and GREAT to see Mvovo get a start.
@coolfusion (Comment 15) : Steyn, Kankowski, Pietersen
@Zibbie (Comment 14) : True story! 😆
@SheldonK (Comment 10) :
thats why the Lions play so well !! they are well nutarised (no such word it seems haha )
@Zibbie (Comment 19) : Ah is that the secret…knew you guys were up to something there
@Zibbie (Comment 19) : Won’t their wives or girlfriends mind?
After the England match, HM made a big deal about Lambie’s decision making under pressure being so good, AND his management of the northern hemisphere conditions being excellent. Seeing him now afforded another start, just makes me wonder if, just maybe, HM may consider Lambie the best option in the RWC next year in the NH conditions. Perhaps he is having second thoughts about Pollards youth in the RWC. Let’s face it, HM is incredibly lucky to have what he does in Lambie to fall back on if that is the direction he goes.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 22) : Lambie’s ability to come through in very high pressure situations toward the end of the Rugby Championships, must really have counted in his favour as well. And let’s face it, in his two starts so far, while not being spectacular has hardly set a foot wrong.
Let’s face it, these are the last tests we have up north before the RWC, surely if HM intended to use Pollard as a starting option in the RWC, he would have given him every opportunity to play in those conditions. He knows what he has in Lambie up north, Pollard is still very much an unknown in those conditions.
I dunno, maybe it is all just wishful thinking. 😎 😎
@Dancing Bear (Comment 25) : The cynical response to that would be that maybe, just maybe Meyer has such certainty about Pollard that he requires no additional confirmation, and is now seeing where Lambie could replace Steyn as backup… but I’m not that cynical!
@Culling Song (Comment 26) : :LOL: this is what is great about you CS, I was going to be an optimist, I just never felt it would work out for me. 😉
Or it could be that I am just posting nonsense in the hope of achieving that highly desirable platinum star!
@Culling Song (Comment 26) : No the correct response would be that Meyer knows he will definitely play Morne Steyn in the RWC but isnt sure who to play off the bench…Lambie or Pollard 😉
J Fourie retires from international rugby. By all accounts the Sharks move for superrugby is off…
@grant10 (Comment 30) : Wonderful how Jaque decided to wait until the completion of the eoyt before announcing this, leaving HM with no time to experiment with different 13’s (as apposed to using 12’s as “placeholder” for him).
HM was pretty stupid for trusting JF, as he’s pulled this stunt many times before.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 31) : good point…..how Juan De Jongh has been ignored is a travesty. De Allende, Serfontein and JDV are all 12 s …..and I dont believe JP Pietersen is going to play 13 in a WC final….we will have 2 x inside centres playing for us at WC….doesent make sense to me .
@grant10 (Comment 30) : Heres one Sharkey that is not going to stress aboutit, in fact Im quite happy about it, I was always of the opinion that he could rather ride on the back of another team in the hope of getting a world cup squad place.
@grant10 (Comment 30) : Where have you been the last few days – The Sharks have appointed a defence coach and an attack consultant….we are unstopable….again. 😈
@grant10 (Comment 32) : I think u may have missed Juan DeJong playing for the Barbarians…those games showed why Meyer hasnt picked him- he goes missing when up against quality. He only looks good when he is given space and time to run at average opposition.
@SheldonK (Comment 35) : Let’s hope S’bura sets 2015 alight with the potential we all know he has.
Would be great if the Sharks could put some specialist 13 training into S’bu, teaching him all aspects of the position.
How did the whole Perez experiment go?…Is he still around, or has he been deported?
@SheldonK (Comment 35) : Yes, great place to judge him…..far better than super rugby and Currie Cup….
@FireTheLooser (Comment 36) : HE still dies with the ball too much for me as a 13. So its his passing game that would need work…on defense he is fine i feel.
@Zibbie (Comment 14) : Must have missed something here 😕 M Boshoff and Stephan Lewies ❓ , never mind Boshoff ex-bull and Lewies is from PTA 😆 😳
@Chippa (Comment 40) :
see ALWAYS a reason 😛
@Zibbie (Comment 41) : Thats Henyecke for you 😆
@SheldonK (Comment 35) : We’re agreeing a lot today…that’s exactly right…
Just off topic slightly…had John Mitchell as guest speaker at a function last night. Question he was asked- which are the top 5 players would have to have on your Bok starting team sheet. His answer…Lambie, Pollard,Etzebeth,Vermuelen and Le Roux
@SheldonK (Comment 44) : Interesting…
@SheldonK (Comment 44) : Pollard at 12?
@SheldonK (Comment 44) : Didn’t he state the positions he would play them in??
@robdylan (Comment 46) : @Chippa (Comment 47) : Yeh he said he may be different but he would find a way to incorporate Lambie and Pollard at 10,12. Said he liked having play makers and guys that can also take a gap at 10,12 and 15
@SheldonK (Comment 44) : interesting. Pollard did play 12 for Tuks in Varsity cup.
@SheldonK (Comment 48) : @JD (Comment 49) : Pollard seems a bit bottled up when playing 12, I think Lambie is a better 12 option between the 2.
@JD (Comment 49) : Also played 12 at jnr. wc in 2013, where du Preez played 10.
@Chippa (Comment 50) : @FireTheLooser (Comment 51) : look I would not play Pollard or Pat at 12. There’s enough good 12’s in SA to leave them to battle for the Bok no. 10 jersey!!!
John Mitchell. Is that the same guy they fired at the Lions?