Springbok Squad for All Blacks nr1

[PaarlBok]

Transvaal.co.za

National Selectors name Springbok squad for Vodacom Tri-Nations Opener against New
Zealand

The National Selectors have named a squad of 23 for the Springboks' opening match of
the 2009 Vodacom Tri-Nations against New Zealand at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on
Saturday, 25 July.

The group includes 22 players that took part in the recently completed 2-1 Test
Series victory over the British & Irish Lions. The only newcomer is Sharks prop
Jannie du Plessis, who returns to the national set-up after last playing for the
Springboks against England at the end of 2008.

Fourteen of the 23 players selected were amongst the match 22 in the third Test
against the Lions on July 4.

The group includes lock Bakkies Botha, whose two-week suspension ends this week. The
Bok squad assembles in Bloemfontein on Thursday afternoon.

Players in the broader Springbok squad, who played against the Lions but have not
been selected for the first Vodacom Tri-Nations Test, have been released to play for
their provinces in the Absa Currie Cup.

The convenor of the selectors, Peter Jooste, said that it was important to maintain
consistency in selection from the Lions Series.

"We have stuck with the core of the players who took part in the Castle South Africa
2009 Lions Series, most of whom have been in the larger Springbok training squad
over the past 12 months. We have also tried to ensure that the combinations that
featured in the first two Lions Tests are kept intact to ensure consistency and
familiarity," Jooste said.

Head Coach Peter de Villiers added that whilst the Vodacom Tri-Nations represented a
new and different challenge it was important to build on what had been achieved
against the Lions.

"The Lions Series was ideal preparation for the Vodacom Tri-Nations," he said.

"The core squad that secured the Series win in the first two Tests has great
potential as a unit and we believe that they have much more to offer. That is why we
have made sure that we have remained consistent in our selection policy".

Commenting on the return of Jannie du Plessis, Jooste said: "Jannie has been a part
of the Springbok squad since 2007 and still has much to offer. He was unfortunate to
miss out on selection for the Lions series but now gets an opportunity in the
Vodacom Tri-Nations".

Springbok Squad:

Forwards:
Andries Bekker (Vodacom Western Province)
Bakkies Botha (Vodacom Blue Bulls)
Heinrich Brüssow (Vodacom Free State Cheetahs)
Bismarck du Plessis (The Sharks)
Jannie du Plessis (The Sharks)
Ryan Kankowski (The Sharks)
Victor Matfield (Vodacom Blue Bulls) - Vice-captain
Tendai Mtawarira (The Sharks)
Chiliboy Ralepelle (Vodacom Blue Bulls)
Danie Rossouw (Vodacom Blue Bulls)
John Smit (The Sharks) - Captain
Juan Smith (Vodacom Free State Cheetahs)
Pierre Spies (Vodacom Blue Bulls)

Backs:
Jean de Villiers (Vodacom Western Province)
Fourie du Preez (Vodacom Blue Bulls)
Jaque Fourie (Xerox Lions)
Bryan Habana (Vodacom Blue Bulls)
Adi Jacobs (The Sharks)
Ricky Januarie (Vodacom Western Province)
Ruan Pienaar (The Sharks)
JP Pietersen (The Sharks)
Frans Steyn (The Sharks)
Morné Steyn (Vodacom Blue Bulls)

The strongest one we can put out in Osfontein and only 2 not on merit, Januarie & Chilliboy. My match 15
F Steyn, Habana, Fourie, Jean, JP, M Steyn, FdP, Spies, Rossouw, Brussouw, Matfield, Bakkies, Smit, Bismarck & Beast

 

[disco]

The strongest one we can put out in Osfontein and only 2 not on merit, Januarie & Chilliboy. My match 15
F Steyn, Habana, Fourie, Jean, JP, M Steyn, FdP, Spies, Rossouw, Brussouw, Matfield, Bakkies, Smit, Bismarck & Beast

I'd go with that Bokke 15.

After game 1 against the Lions I couldn't really pick any weakness with this Springbok side but in game 2 I think the Lions showed that the Bokke scrum could be out muscled & out thought & this really upset the Boks brilliant 1st phase set piece.

Sure they still have the best lineout in world rugby but they will need to improve at scrum time.

I personally think the Lions should have won game 2 if the match didn't go to un-contested scrums.

Other than that I think the Boks have the best talent in world rugby at the moment & definitely the best all round depth.

If PDV can get his act together this side could be unbeatable I think it's a good thing for us that Heyneke Meyer wasn't selected to coach the Boks when Jake White retired.

 

[PaarlBok]

Some big words there Disco , think the Bokke have to take it one match at a time. This year they have a very good (maybe the best they can wish for) fixture list. If they can win their home games , they sure will build up enough steam to get one or maybe two away ones. Because of all the travel they always have three or four in a row, a bit of a break and then a few to finish things off. They just have to get up big time at home in that first All Blacks test and take it from there.

Add the benefits we had from the Lions Tour (many moans and groans but I think it was good to see all our players having a change to measure them against the Lions) and this group of players will be more then ready to have a go against the All Blacks in Bloemfontein. That first test will be vital.

 

[Blue]

The strongest one we can put out in Osfontein and only 2 not on merit, Januarie & Chilliboy. My match 15
F Steyn, Habana, Fourie, Jean, JP, M Steyn, FdP, Spies, Rossouw, Brussouw, Matfield, Bakkies, Smit, Bismarck & Beast

I'd go with that Bokke 15.

After game 1 against the Lions I couldn't really pick any weakness with this Springbok side but in game 2 I think the Lions showed that the Bokke scrum could be out muscled & out thought & this really upset the Boks brilliant 1st phase set piece.

Sure they still have the best lineout in world rugby but they will need to improve at scrum time.

I personally think the Lions should have won game 2 if the match didn't go to un-contested scrums.

Other than that I think the Boks have the best talent in world rugby at the moment & definitely the best all round depth.

If PDV can get his act together this side could be unbeatable I think it's a good thing for us that Heyneke Meyer wasn't selected to coach the Boks when Jake White retired.

35 minutes of uncontested scrums and suddenly the Lions would have won. So you suggest they would have won it based on their scrum?

I think the SA scrum can only get better, and will. A hooker converted to TH and a an 8 converted to a LH. They didn't go too bad in the first test and when du Plessis came on in the third test they improved greatly.

They wonlt dominate but I also donlt think the Aus and AB scrums will take them lightly. Feeling good about where they are at though.

 

[disco]

35 minutes of uncontested scrums and suddenly the Lions would have won. So you suggest they would have won it based on their scrum?

Definitely, Yes I do think they would have won if the game had not gone to uncontested scrums.

Don't try & make out that the Springboks won game 2 easily they won with the last kick of the game.

Once the scrum was uncontested the Boks defended the Lions 1st phase ball much better and the Boks got much better 1st phase ball in attack.

The boks were getting killed until the last 30 miutes of game 2.

 

[Blue]

35 minutes of uncontested scrums and suddenly the Lions would have won. So you suggest they would have won it based on their scrum?

Definitely, Yes I do think they would have won if the game had not gone to uncontested scrums.

Don't try & make out that the Springboks won game 2 easily they won with the last kick of the game.

Once the scrum was uncontested the Boks defended the Lions 1st phase ball much better and the Boks got much better 1st phase ball in attack.

The boks were getting killed until the last 30 minutes of game 2.

Yup. And they got up and won. It was an even contest. 15 players each side. Same rules, Same ref. Same field. Like I have said before. If the Lions were hoping to win purely based on their scrum, they did not deserve to win at all. Regardless, their so called dominance in the scrum is based on ONLY 5 scrums up to that point. Go and count them. In one scrum they turned the ball over. Who is to say our scrum wouldn't have improved in the second half? Maybe, maybe not. Irrelevant.

I think I can go back to any game and say ooh, if the ref hadn't called that a forward pass. Ooh, if the Ref didn't ping the wrong guys, ooh, they were offside all the time. Yada Yada.

Where did I make out they won game 2 easily? It was a scrap to the end and I have admitted on other threads that we got lucky. We used the luck though. The Lions played incredibly stupid rugby for the last 30 minutes of game 2. They thought they could sit back and defend a lead. Got nailed for it and deservedly so. Their kicking game fell to pieces because of pressure. Jones decision making went for a ball of shit. Phillips was more concerned with looking for niggle and BOD lost his cool. Meanwhile their Captain spent 30 minutes complaining to the ref and forgot to play. They were slow to the rucks and Brussow ripped them one. They lost the plot.

To suggest the game would have been won or lost on the basis of one facet of play is neither here nor there.

If. Maybe. Could have, Would have. Should have. Hindsight is an exact but mostly irrelevant science.

As for your last sentence. That suggests to me you haven't actually watched the game. The Boks got killed for the first 50. They came back in the last 30 and absolutely bitch slapped the Lions in the last 20. May I suggest you actually watch the game.

 

[PaarlBok]

35 minutes of uncontested scrums and suddenly the Lions would have won. So you suggest they would have won it based on their scrum?

Definitely, Yes I do think they would have won if the game had not gone to uncontested scrums.

Don't try & make out that the Springboks won game 2 easily they won with the last kick of the game.

Once the scrum was uncontested the Boks defended the Lions 1st phase ball much better and the Boks got much better 1st phase ball in attack.

The boks were getting killed until the last 30 miutes of game 2.

If you go back to the uncontested scrum one I think the Bokke was pretty decend not replacing fatties with loosies in that test, could have been much worse for the Lions.

 

[Moses]

That was up there with the stupidest things your coach has done this season...

 

[disco]

As for your last sentence. That suggests to me you haven't actually watched the game. The Boks got killed for the first 50. They came back in the last 30 and absolutely bitch slapped the Lions in the last 20. May I suggest you actually watch the game.

The boks were getting killed until the last 30 miutes of game 2.

Ummm you've just backed up what I already said. If you read my sentence again the boks WERE getting killed UNTIL the last 30 minutes of the game.

 

[Blue]

As for your last sentence. That suggests to me you haven't actually watched the game. The Boks got killed for the first 50. They came back in the last 30 and absolutely bitch slapped the Lions in the last 20. May I suggest you actually watch the game.

The boks were getting killed until the last 30 miutes of game 2.

Ummm you've just backed up what I already said. If you read my sentence again the boks WERE getting killed UNTIL the last 30 minutes of the game.

Oh OK. Speed reading.

You're still talking shit though. :fishing

 

[PaarlBok]

To be honest the Lions series is done and dusted, uncontested scrums or not. We dont know if measuring against them is bad or not. I for one believe this Lion series was pretty good opposition and gave the Springbokke the perfect preparation for the 3 Nations series. Also think Snor have done the right time by giving the 10 changes players a change in the 3 test after the series was done. Also think this 2009 Lions team was much stronger then most think they were.

This is a clean new start for the Springbokke and myself are pretty happy with where we are. The squad is well tested and tried and bar 2 bad picks from 23 sure will satisfied any Springbok supporters and I think we are in a healthy position at the moment going in the 3 Nations.

If I look at the All Blacks and Walabies squad things look even better to be honest. Now its time to sit back and relax and watch all the drama as it unfold and let the resuklts between the four lines do the talking.

Many will be surprised. Make no mistake.

 

[disco]

Paarlbok,
I agree I think the Lions team was very strong much better side than 2005, plenty of strong running backs with good footwork & the forwards were very tough as you would expect from a NH side.

I also agree that the Boks squad is definitely the best in the Tri-Nations man for man I just hope the coach has another brain fade & dreams up some strange patterns of play.

 

[PaarlBok]

I also agree that the Boks squad is definitely the best in the Tri-Nations man for man I just hope the coach has another brain fade & dreams up some strange patterns of play.

Well undestimate Snor on your own risk. Many state we won that 2nd Lion test by a scratch or should not have won that one. I think the Bokke tries scored in the two tests was high quality specially those in the important 2nd test. You'd never saw those tries scored in Jake White's days. That third test teached us one important lesson, Blue qouted it perfectly well, we farked without Bakkies and Pakslae as back up lock and we may have fattie problems. Carstens was a dumb pick from the start, this now rectified by including Doc Jannie.

Anyway we'll know where we are in the next few weeks and I am excited. This is the big one in my books and if we clinch this Tri Nations, SA rugby will be right there on the top.

Snor now trying his best to hold on our players wanting to head north, F Steyn is gone tho.
Still rumuors about Habana, Jean, Jac Fourie but nothing on paper just yet.

 

[Blue]

You'd never saw those tries scored in Jake White's days.

That's not true. There were some sensational tries in the year we won the Tri Nations under white and in a few other games in the NH especially.

Those tries in the second Lions test were clever but not flash and the one Fourie scored was pure brute strength.

I donlt know why you keep trying to give Snor credit for the boks playing better rugby under him. That's rubbish. Look what happened last year when he tried to play pretty rugby. We got snotted.

 

[PaarlBok]

You'd never saw those tries scored in Jake White's days.

That's not true. There were some sensational tries in the year we won the Tri Nations under white and in a few other games in the NH especially.

Those tries in the second Lions test were clever but not flash and the one Fourie scored was pure brute strength.

I donlt know why you keep trying to give Snor credit for the boks playing better rugby under him. That's rubbish. Look what happened last year when he tried to play pretty rugby. We got snotted.

Interesting coming from you, if I remember back to Jake Whites days, yourself the most hectic critic against him and his game plan was just this, Bokke play one dimensional. Times fly Boet?

 

[Rugby Rat]

From what I've seen so far. It will depend on the ref. :

I sure hope that all home teams are given an unfair advantage.

 

[PaarlBok]

From what I've seen so far. It will depend on the ref. :

I sure hope that all home teams are given an unfair advantage.

Another ref whiner, vokkit this place is vervuil with them. :lmao:

 

[PaarlBok]

AD Jacobs look out for saturday and Wynand Olivier (Meisiekind) pull into the squad. The team will be announced today and will look likely like F Steyn, Habana, J Fourie, Jean de Villiers, JP, Pienaar, FdP, Spies, Smith, Brussouw, Bakkies, Matfield, Smit, Bismarck & Beast.

 

[PaarlBok]

Team finalize
Springboks – 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Wynand Olivier.