Springbok Rugby Championship squad

[Brumby Jack]

Willem Alberts, The Sharks, 11 caps
Andries Bekker, DHL Western Province, 24 caps
Pat Cilliers, MTN Golden Lions, uncapped
Marcell Coetzee, The Sharks, 3 caps
Keegan Daniel, The Sharks, 3 caps
Jean de Villiers, DHL Western Province, 75 caps (captain)
Bismarck du Plessis, The Sharks, 45 caps
Jannie du Plessis, The Sharks, 33 caps
JJ Engelbrecht, Vodacom Blue Bulls, uncapped
Eben Etzebeth, DHL Western Province, 3 caps
Dean Greyling, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 2 caps
Bryan Habana, DHL Western Province, 77 caps
Francois Hougaard, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 18 caps
Elton Jantjies, MTN Golden Lions, uncapped
Zane Kirchner, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 15 caps
Siya Kolisi, DHL Western Province, uncapped
Juandré Kruger, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 3 caps
Patrick Lambie, The Sharks, 13 caps
Tendai Mtawarira, The Sharks, 35 caps
Lwazi Mvovo, The Sharks, 4 caps
Ruan Pienaar, Ulster, Northern Ireland, 54 caps
JP Pietersen, The Sharks 45 caps
Jacques Potgieter, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 1 cap
Chiliboy Ralepelle, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 21 caps
Pierre Spies, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 50 caps
Frans Steyn, The Sharks, 49 caps
Morné Steyn, Vodacom Blue Bulls,, 37 caps
Adriaan Strauss, Toyota FS Cheetahs, 12 caps
Flip van der Merwe, Vodacom Blue Bulls, 14 caps
Jano Vermaak, Vodacom Blue Bulls, uncapped.

 

[Blue]

Mods please merge:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/community/threads/springboks-rugby-championship.11407/page-2

 

[en_force_er]

You'd be pretty miffed if you were the Cheetahs, wouldn't you?

 

[Blue]

You'd be pretty miffed if you were the Cheetahs, wouldn't you?

I would have Brussow in the mix and the Cheetah scrummie well before Jano Vermaak.

And Goosen and Coenie Oosthuizen would be there bu they are broken.

That's about it. Nobody else can make a serious enough claim.

 

[Hawko]

I would have Brussow in the mix and the Cheetah scrummie well before Jano Vermaak.

And Goosen and Coenie Oosthuizen would be there bu they are broken.

That's about it. Nobody else can make a serious enough claim.

But that's just it. Vermaak is from the Bulls, de Bruyn is not. And how any SA coach could leave Brussow out after the carnage caused by Pocock in the QF game is a total mystery. Did they learn nothing (apart from the fact that BL is not an international standard referee)?

 

[tigerland12]

Who'll start out of Bekker, Etzebeth and Kruger? The former two?

 

[Ruggo]

Now they picked Janties, use him.

 

[whatty]

I am certainly not miffed regards the Brussow non selection. We appear to have adopted a more direct physical forward based attack and the fetching role is not significantly reduced with the current bigger loosies and Battleship's ability.

I would never have said that before this season but Brussow looked below par and allmost lacking in physicality this season.
Bekker, Etzebeth would be my lock combination.
Jantjies would be my No,10 but I very much doubt he will.

We will have to loose to the Argies or some similar loss to effect such a radical change of dropping Morne.S

 

[SuperGrover]

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has included five uncapped players in his 30-man squad for the inaugural Rugby Championship.

Stormers loose forward Siya Kolisi and Lions prop Pat Cilliers join JJ Engelbrecht (centre/wing), Elton Jantjies (fly-half) and Jano Vermaak (scrum-half), who were all part of the Springbok squad for the June Test series against England, but did not make an appearance.

There was also a recall for Stormers lock Andries Bekker after two years on the Test sidelines because of injuries. Bekker is back in the squad for the first time since July 2010.

"It is important for us to build continuity in our squad, which is why we did not make too many changes," said Meyer.

"Andries was always in the selection frame, but got injured shortly before England arrived and was not available. It's good to have him back.

"Pat and Siya were also part of our thinking earlier in the season and have forced their way into the squad with consistently good performances in Super Rugby."

Meyer is excited about the forthcoming series against Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

"It's a big challenge, playing six Tests against the best teams in the world in eight weeks and we now have to ensure we improve on how we played against England," he said.

"It's still early days for this team, but we are excited about what lies ahead in a brand-new competition that promises to be very testing."

The squad of 30 will be trimmed to 26 for the Springboks' trip to Mendoza, where they play Argentina on August 25. A decision on which four players will not travel to South America will be announced after the Test at Newlands.

If needed, the national selectors can make further changes to the squad upon their arrival back from Argentina for the two away Tests against Australia and New Zealand in September.

Injured Springboks not considered for selection were: Bjorn Basson, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brüssow, Bandise Maku and Coenie Oosthuizen.

"Other injured players such as Jaco Taute, Johan Goosen and Duane Vermeulen are also in our plans, but are still out with injuries," said Meyer.

"All of these injured players, as well as other players we have identified, could be considered for selection at a later stage in the competition depending on their recovery and the needs of the squad."

Two further players who were part of the squad in the series against England, Wynand Olivier and Ryan Kankowski, have signed contracts to play their rugby in Japan and were also not considered.

http://planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7962383,00.html

Brussow wasn't considered for selection due to injury

 

[tigerland12]

1- Mtawarirra
2- du Plessis
3- du Plessis
4- Etzebeth
5- Bekker
6- Alberts
7- Coetzee
8- Spies
9- Hougaard
10- Steyn
11- Habana
12- Steyn
13- de Villiers
14- Pietersen
15- Kirchner

Bench: Strauss, Grelying, Kruger, Daniel, Pienaar, Lambie, Mvovo

Can't see it being anything other then that.

 

[Brisbok]

That looks pretty close to the mark Tiger. Only possible changes could be:

5 - Bekker/Kruger (Not sure who Meyer's preference is, but Kruger has done nothing wrong in his first 3 tests)
15 - Kirchner/Lambie (hopefully Meyer won't make a judgement based on Lambie's performance in the S15 final. I think he was undercooked going into that game and possibly a bit tough to throw him straight into a final after being out injured for a number of weeks)

On the bench:

Greyling/Cilliers - the fact that Cilliers is a tighthead and Jannie is more likely to be subbed than the Beast may count in his favour. His stocks have also risen after the performance of the Lions scrum in the last few weeks of Super Rugby and they dominated the much fancied Bulls in the last game of the season.

If Lambie starts at 15, I think you will also see Jantjies on the bench (still got fingers crossed that Meyer starts him ahead of Morne, but unlikely).

Maybe JJ Engelbrecht ahead of Mvovo as he covers 11/14/13.

 

[Blue]

Brussow wasn't considered for selection due to injury

I really don't think Brussow has recovered properly from hist knee and subsequent hamstring injuries. He always gets rushed back too quickly. I hope he gets managed better.

 

[Blue]

1- Mtawarirra
2- du Plessis
3- du Plessis
4- Etzebeth
5- Bekker
6- Alberts
7- Coetzee
8- Spies
9- Hougaard
10- Steyn
11- Habana
12- Steyn
13- de Villiers
14- Pietersen
15- Kirchner

Bench: Strauss, Grelying, Kruger, Daniel, Pienaar, Lambie, Mvovo

Can't see it being anything other then that.

Lambie likely at 15.

God I wish Jantjes would get the start

 

[AlexH]

Its a shame Johan Goosen is injured. I think he would have gotten the nod ahead of Elton Jantes. Well, at least I would have given him a go ahead of Jantes. Morne Steyn is consistently average behind a dominant pack.

Perhaps, its time for South Africa to pick someone who will do a little more with the space and time your forwards gift your halves.

 

[Swat]

Is anyone else afraid of the day when south africa start with an attacking, ball in hand flyhalf over a penalty kicking machine? With the forwards they possess and the class of many of the outside backs and solid all round centres there's no reason why they can't take the number 1 mantle off the all blacks let knock us off the number 2 spot.

 

[Brisbok]

Unfortunately, it appears that Meyer doesn't see what most of us fans see and it appears that he will keep persisting with Morne Steyn even though he is hopelessly out of form.

Meyer backs Steyn to find form

Article By: Jan de Koning
Mon, 06 Aug 2012 8:38 AM
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has said he takes full responsibility for out-of-form flyhalf Morné Steyn and believes the No.10 will soon be back to his brilliant best.

Meyer, speaking in Worcester at the weekend after naming his 30-man squad for the opening leg of the inaugural Rugby Championship, said he believes in "coaching" players back to form... not axing them

Steyn, like his Bulls halfback partner Francois Hougaard, struggled with his form this year and has been nowhere near the match-winner that saw him set a host of world records since his Test debut in 2009.

After having secured a series win over the 2009 B&I Lions, as well as having played a major role in the Boks' Tri-Nations triumph, Steyn has suffered a dramatic slump in form - especially the last 12 months.

In the recent three-Test series against England his goal-kicking hardly reached the 50 percent margin, prompting a chorus of calls for him to be replaced as Bok pivot.

The tendentious Cape media wanted Peter Grant, from Durban there was a deafening outcry for Patrick Lambie to be the flyhalf, in Bloemfontein they believed only injury prevents Johann Goosen from replacing Steyn and there have also been suggestions from Johannesburg that the Lions' Elton Jantjies should start in the Bok No.10 jersey.

However, Meyer stood his ground and at the weekend defended his selection of the 37-Test match-winner.

"What I have seen, and what we saw again this [Saturday] morning, is that you need a No.9 and No.10 that can kick tactically... that can control the game," Meyer said in reference to the Sharks' 6-37 loss to the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Final.

Meyer admitted that the 27-year-old Steyn needed to make a drastic step up in terms of the quality of his game.

"Obviously Morné [Steyn] hasn't played to his best and Francois [Hougaard] as well," the Bok mentor said, adding: "That is something we need to work on.

"I really did think about the halfbacks, but you need some sort of continuity. I have always been a coach that believe you fix something by coaching.

"You can't pick a different player every week... throw him out and get a new player.

"They know they have to step up to the plate and they know I wasn't happy with their performances. They are quality players and they have proved themselves in the past."

Meyer said he expected the youngsters in the country to give the incumbents the wake-up call they need. "The great things is there are a lot of youngsters coming through in those positions," he said.

"They know they have two games [against Argentina in at Newlands on August 18 and in Mendoza a week later] to prove themselves and then we will look at the squad again."

Meyer also dismissed suggestions that Steyn's poor goal-kicking form meant his overall game had suffered.

"Morné played good rugby at times, even though he didn't kick so well," the coach said, "Morné is a player that is mentally very tough and it is just a matter of time before he is back to his best.

"It is my job to get him back to his best and I am confident I will get him back there [to his best].

"It is no secret that I think that Johann Goosen could be a huge match-winner," he said of the player most feel is the Bok No.10 of the future.

Meyer also revealed that he saw Lambie more as a fullback, and not a regular flyhalf.

"Patrick's best position is fullback," the Bok mentor said. "He has been injured for a while, so it was great to see him back playing.

"He can also be a great No.10, but Patrick knows that he needs to improve his tactical kicking... and that's the thing with Morné as well at this stage.

"Luckily a guy like Johann Goosen is going to play in the next three to four weeks, so that will give us more options."

Meyer said that Grant was considered, but the fact that he was playing in Japan had counted against him.

"Peter [Grant] has played well," Meyer said, adding: "He is a guy that is an 80 percent-plus goal-kicker.

"Although Morné, at Test level, also used to be an 80 percent goal-kicker. I did look at him [Grant], he is a great player.

"It doesn't help that he is going back to Japan again... that makes the situation more difficult.

"I must say, he was close to the squad. He is a guy I can fall back on, but I always like my second No.10 as a youngster, and that is why Patrick and Elton [Jantjies] got the nod there."

Asked about the reason for selecting three scrumhalves in his 30-man squad, Meyer said it was such a specialist position that he needed the extra back-up.

"It is always a tough one," he said, adding: "If you select 30 players you want to go with two full squads, especially for training purposes, but hooker and scrumhalf are such specialist positions.

"We have only been together for three weeks.

"No.9 and hooker are the players that touches the ball the most and they are still finding their feet in terms of the game plan.

"You don't want to get into a situation where your No.9 and hooker are on the bench, then he goes from Currie Cup rugby straight into starting a Test. We want to keep those guys in the mix [at the Bok team].

"We want to keep them up to date with the gameplan.

"It is tough for two other players, who can't make the squad. However, it is important to have continuity with your No.9 and hooker."

Meyer said Hougaard would also cover wing, where he has featured for country and province before.

"Juan de Jongh has also played well and he was close to the team. [However,] with Bjorn Basson injured we had to decide if we would go for Juan [de Jongh], or go for a guy who can cover outside centre and wing.

"With the extra scrumhalf and hooker [in the squad], I opted to go with JJ [Engelbrecht] as extra cover on the wing as well."

http://sport.iafrica.com/rugby/news/809510.html

 

[Blue]

Morne. Meh.

Will hold us back.

Let's move on.

 

[qwerty51]

Massive blows, Pieterson gone for a while and Burger out for the year. Etzebeth in doubt too.

 

[Hawko]

Is anyone else afraid of the day when south africa start with an attacking, ball in hand flyhalf over a penalty kicking machine? With the forwards they possess and the class of many of the outside backs and solid all round centres there's no reason why they can't take the number 1 mantle off the all blacks let knock us off the number 2 spot.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Goosen gives them both at once.

 

[Blue]

Massive blows, Pieterson gone for a while and Burger out for the year. Etzebeth in doubt too.

Fark. Eight weeks for Pietersen. Broken thumb.

More of a long term worry is Burger. Seems he is having big problems.

There is talk about Bakkies Botha coming back because of the Etzebeth injury. I must say he looked good in Toulon but fuck me I have had enough of his ugly mug in a Bok jumper.