Habana out as Boks pick Brits
28 Oct 2012
Bryan Habana will miss the Springboks’ European tour but the selectors were bold in their selection of dynamic hooker Schalk Brits.
Habana has been in impressive form of late and his absence, as a result of a knee injury sustained in Saturday’s Currie Cup final, is a hammer blow. His unavailability opens the door for young Cheetahs winger Raymond Rhule, 19, who announced himself as a fine prospect with a series of strong performances in their domestic campaign.
Brits has consistently been among the best hookers in Europe since his move to London-based Saracens, but his claims have consistently been overlooked by the national selectors over the last three seasons. He has, however, made the cut as one of three hookers. With Adriaan Strauss expected to start, Brits will battle Chiliboy Ralepelle for the bench spot.
There is also a spot for Toulouse prop Gurthro Steenkamp, who had a strong first season for the French giants. He comes into the squad as loosehead cover in light of an injury to Coenie Oosthuizen.
Wing JP Pietersen returns to the squad after missing the Rugby Championship through injury and is one of five options in the position. Uncapped players Jano Vermaak, Franco van der Merwe, Lionel Mapoe and Arno Botha also make the cut.
The Springboks have an extensive injury list which has compromised the strength of the squad. Those who would have been considered but are sidelined are: Oosthuizen, Bismarck du Plessis, Tiaan Liebenberg, Andries Bekker, Siya Kolisi, Jacques Potgieter, Pierre Spies, Johan Goosen, Frans Steyn and Habana. Furthermore, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Heinrich Brüssow are still out injured.
‘We’ve got a settled core of players that did the job during the England series and the Rugby Championship and we decided to stick with them,’ said Meyer.
‘Obviously losing so many players to injury, the latest being Coenie, Tiaan, Andries, Jacques and Bryan during the Currie Cup, makes it difficult, but this now provides opportunities for other players.
‘Gurthrö and Schalk are experienced front rankers who have played for South Africa before and know the conditions in the northern hemisphere. This tour provides a good opportunity to assess them as we plan ahead. Arno, Lionel, Franco and Jano have all been part of our squad earlier in the season.
‘Raymond put up his hand for the Baby Boks and the Cheetahs and I’m very excited to see what he can do. It’s also great to have JP and Chiliboy back from injury as they bring a lot of experience to the squad.’
Meyer’s team face Ireland on 10 November, Scotland on 17 November and England on 24 November, and the coach predicted a testing tour.
‘Although the Springboks won on their last visit to Dublin [in 2010], they lost three in a row before that,’ he said. ‘In 2010, we lost to Scotland in Edinburgh. They beat the Wallabies in Australia earlier in the year, so it won’t be easy there.
‘And in June we’ve experienced first-hand how difficult and opponent England are. They will be fired up at Twickenham and it will be a challenging Test to end the tour with.
‘Our aim is to end the season on a positive note. We set ourselves high standards and we want to improve with every Test, but we have a team that is still gaining valuable experience as we strive to constantly be amongst the top sides in the world. We know we’re not there yet, but we’ve laid a foundation in the first nine Tests this year and we will build on that.
‘The World Cup in 2015 also takes place in England, so we will use this tour to see how our players adapt to the conditions as we look ahead to that very important tournament.’
Springbok squad – Willem Alberts, Arno Botha, Schalk Brits, Pat Cilliers, Marcell Coetzee, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (c), Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Francois Hougaard, Elton Jantjies, Zane Kirchner, Juandré Kruger, Pat Lambie, Francois Louw, Lionel Mapoe, Beast Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Raymond Rhule, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Jaco Taute, CJ van der Linde, Flip van der Merwe, Franco van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen.
317 Comments
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28 Oct 2012, 14:15 pm
Let the whingeing begin.
28 Oct 2012, 14:17 pm
Some good picks…like Brits being there!! Deon Fourie….man what must that boy do to get in the squad!!! Absolutely ridiculous that he not in the top 30 or so players in South africa!!
28 Oct 2012, 14:17 pm
@zub-1: I doubt it, the only complaints could be Fourie and Steyn, but Lambie and Elton are there and Flow would always start so…
28 Oct 2012, 14:21 pm
More worried about the gameplan than the selections.
28 Oct 2012, 14:22 pm
@Bagel-3:
Agree…
28 Oct 2012, 14:24 pm
Fourie should have been there…
Gurtho, Brits and JdJ in. Good picks. Surprised Ludik didn’t make it; he is better than Zane. Rhule is a nice selection too.
Hopefully this means that JdJ will start if JdV doesn’t make the first test.
I don’t like Vermaak.
Overall, enough to put out a very good first 15 IF Meyer selects correctly.
28 Oct 2012, 14:25 pm
8 Vermeulen
7 Arno Botha
6 Flow
28 Oct 2012, 14:25 pm
Arno Botha
Lionel Mapoe
Jano Vermaak
…The selection of these three above guys like Deon Fourie, Keegan Daniel, Gio Aplon, Jaco Reinach and Nic Groom is inexplicable.
But I expected it.
Heyneke and his skop-en-jag sterre to get a rude awakening in Europe.
28 Oct 2012, 14:26 pm
@mikeybrass-6: Not a fan of Vermaak either, but Groom and Reinach very raw.
Sharkies will be bummed about Ludick and Keegan Cullen.
28 Oct 2012, 14:27 pm
Wow no D Fourie. Not a good call by Meyer…AGAIN.
In order:
15 Taute
14 Pietersen
13 De Jongh
12 De Villiers
11 Hougaard
10 Lambie
9 Pienaar
8 Vermeulen
7 Alberts
6 Louw
5 Kruger
4 Etzebeth
3 Jannie Du Plessis
2 Adriaan Strauss
1 Tendai Mtawarira
16 Chilliboy Ralepelle
17 Pat Cilliers
18 Flip Van Der Merwe
19 Marcell Coetzee
20 Jano Vermaak
21 Elton Jantjes
22 Raymond Rhule
23 Schalk Brits
24 Gurthro Steenkamp
25 CJ Van Der Linde
26 Franco Van Der Merwe
27 Arno Botha
28 Morne Steyn
29 Lionel Mapoe
30 Lwazi Mvovo
31 Zane Kirchner
well thats what I would go for
28 Oct 2012, 14:27 pm
@Bagel-3: There will be complaints that there are too many Sharks/Bulls/Stormers, too few Sharks/Bulls/Stormers, too many quotas, too many Dutchies etc
28 Oct 2012, 14:28 pm
@Caper-8: Don’t compare Arno with Fourie, that’s stupid.
Ditto for Aplon and Mapoe (Who is awesome).
Maybe Aplon for Zane, Fourie for Marcell or Brits etc.
I still don’t see why a squad needs 3 hookers, by all means bring up another if need be.
28 Oct 2012, 14:28 pm
My changes:
Fourie for Brits
Reinach for Vermaak
Aplon for Mapoe
would have picked Kirchner as Lambie needs to play 10 as Goosen unavailable
28 Oct 2012, 14:30 pm
Mvovo over Ludik…lucky
28 Oct 2012, 14:32 pm
Aaaaah noooo , Dean Greyling didnt make it
28 Oct 2012, 14:32 pm
Kirchner, Mapoe, Mvovo, Pietersen, Rhule, Hougaard, Taute, De Jongh, De Villiers, Jantjies, Lambie, M. Steyn, Vermaak, Pienaar
A. Botha, Vermeulen, Alberts, Coetsee, Louw, Fl. Vd Merwe, Fr. Vd Merwe, Kruger, Etzebeth, JdP, Cilliers, Strauss, Chili, Brits, Steenkamp, CJ , Beast
No Habana out to injury and no Deon Fourie
No Jordaan or Ludick either, or Groom.. but Vermaak, Kirchner and Morne Steyn go along.
Dumb coach still don’t know whats cooking I hope Ireland give him what the fck for.
28 Oct 2012, 14:32 pm
really gutted about D Fourie.
28 Oct 2012, 14:33 pm
@mikeybrass-6:
Which would mean Taute at 13 as we don’t have another specialist 12, unless he plays JPP.
28 Oct 2012, 14:33 pm
@Bagel-9: Hougaard and Pienaar are the scrummies. Groom or Reinach would have benefited from the experience. It’s not like Vermaak is going to start.
28 Oct 2012, 14:34 pm
@Bagel-12: Why not compare Arno with Fourie? Deon Fourie is an excellent ball carrier. Arno Botha would not even be in the match 22 of the Sharks or Stormers.
28 Oct 2012, 14:34 pm
Now if only we van transform Etzebeth to a number 5 lock?
28 Oct 2012, 14:34 pm
Oh boy … Is Arno Botha really the next best flank? Better than Keegan Daniel? And Deon Fourie? And poor Gio Aplon must make peace with the fact that he will never play for the Springboks as long as Meyer is coach. He should go back to sevens. He will be more than welcome there.
Morné Steyn will start at flyhalf, with Jantjies on the bench as his backup. And Pat Lambie will play fullback for maybe three minutes at the end of each game. What a shame that he couldn’t get a start at flyhalf.
Continuity is a good thing, but it could also mean that a coach can make the same mistakes over and over again.
I can’t really stomach much more of the clueless game plan of “kick it high and hope for the best” and ‘dominate with slow, rumbling forwards”. Ah, well, netball is on TV now. It’s always an option.
28 Oct 2012, 14:35 pm
@grant10-17: Yeah…
Deserved a spot and would’ve been a great backup 6, but Flouw will do the job and Fourie is an average hooker unfortunately so understandably not picked in that position (Can’t throw for sh*t)
28 Oct 2012, 14:35 pm
who will replace Flo @ openside if he catches a niggle? marcell is not a deck player…
28 Oct 2012, 14:36 pm
@grant10-17: is he a better hooker than chiliboy & brits?
28 Oct 2012, 14:37 pm
@David-18: Bold would be Taute at 15, and JdV and Mapoe as centres. But Meyer won’t. He’ll put Zane at fullback with Taute and JdJ as the centres.
I’m deadly afraid that Morne will be the starting 10 if JdV doesn’t make the first test under the disguise of “experience” when he has consistently failed on the end of the year tour as a flyhalf.
28 Oct 2012, 14:38 pm
@DaveyJ-22: I reckon he is there as the backup 8.
28 Oct 2012, 14:39 pm
@Transformation-24:
You’ve actually just answered your own question. HM doesn’t believe in a specialist fetcher. Flo just ticks the other HM required boxes.
28 Oct 2012, 14:39 pm
@Transformation-24: Exactly. Fourie took Marcell to the cleaners on the deck. Hell, even Ginger cleaned up on the deck more times than Marcell.
Glad to see Guthro there though.
28 Oct 2012, 14:40 pm
@David-28: Fourie proved he is more than a deck player though too. Plus Fourie goes for space when he runs, making him very effective and hard to bring down.
28 Oct 2012, 14:40 pm
@mikeybrass-26:
I said the same thing earlier this morning about justifying Morne starting if JdV’s not available.
28 Oct 2012, 14:40 pm
@DaveyJ-22: August 2011
Bulls Director: Rugby, Heyneke
Meyer, who already indicated a while ago
that the 19-year old player might be playing
Currie Cup this year. “We will be looking at
blooding young players this year and Arno
will be one of those players we will be
looking at. He is big and strong and works
hard, all attributes we are looking for,”
Meyer said.
Arno Botha
Bio:
Physical: 1.90 & 102 kg
28 Oct 2012, 14:41 pm
@David-31: Yup. I remember. It’d be a miracle if we win while Steyn starts up north. This myth about needing Steyn in those conditions is a load of sh*t.
28 Oct 2012, 14:41 pm
@mikeybrass-30:
HM only believes in flankers moving to hooker, not the other way around.
28 Oct 2012, 14:42 pm
@Caper-20: Well I disagree.
Botha is class, and is primarily seen as an 8th man anyways. Offers an option in the lineout and is certainly a better ball carrier than Fourie. (See post 23 for my opinion on him).
Also Heyneke is allowed to have one or two bolters in his squad who he feels can make a big impact even if Joe Public disagrees.
When he makes stupid selections such a J. Potgieter or JJ at 13, by all means tear into him…
Post 10 has the team likely to be picked and it’s awesome (although Morne could ruin it)
28 Oct 2012, 14:44 pm
@David-34:
28 Oct 2012, 14:48 pm
@David-34: LOL
28 Oct 2012, 14:49 pm
Jantjies, Mvovo and Chiliboi were rewarded for their recent sublime performance!
Keep it up
28 Oct 2012, 14:50 pm
Fourie should be starting hooker not Strauss
and Fourie is better than both of Brits and Chili.. plus he is next best option at open side ahead of Coetsee
Fourie should be on the bus.. Heyneke Meyer is a thicker than ten plank dunce deluxe.
Vermaak is hopeless, so is Morne Steyn.. wtf they doing in the squad taking up valuable space?
Heyneke Meyer is one thick goddamn plank.. I hope Ireland bust his useless chops.
28 Oct 2012, 14:52 pm
only 4 Province players touring…this team can’t be referred to as a “traditional powers” team
28 Oct 2012, 14:52 pm
@Bagel-36:
When you posted the squad earlier you had JPP listed as wing/centre. Was that the official release?
28 Oct 2012, 14:54 pm
@Hondo-38: yes, juandre, taute, arno botha too
28 Oct 2012, 14:55 pm
@Hondo-38: you forgot msteyn
28 Oct 2012, 14:56 pm
I wish:
1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
2 Adriaan Strauss
3 Jannie du Plessis
4 Flip van der Merwe
5 Eben Etzebeth
6 Francois Louw
7 Arno Botha
8 Duane Vermeulen
9 Ruan Pienaar
10 Patrick Lambie
11 Raymond Rhule
12 Jean de Villiers
13 Juan de Jongh
14 JP Pietersen
15 Jaco Taute
16 Schalk Brits
17 Pat Cilliers
18 Juandré Kruger
19 Willem Alberts
20 Marcell Coetzee
21 Francois Hougaard
22 Elton Jantjies
28 Oct 2012, 14:57 pm
@Transformation-43:
Strange when the whole of SA says Steyn is one who really doesn’t deserve a place in the side and boom – he is there… I guess Lambie will be warming the bench for 15 once again…
28 Oct 2012, 14:57 pm
Selection included:
3 hookers (3 for one position)
3 scrumhalves (3 for one position)
3 Flyhalves (3 for one position)
But
1 Fullback (for one position)
So much fun is waiting to happened
28 Oct 2012, 14:58 pm
What bout something different and play attacking rugby…..
1. Gurthro Steenkamp
2. Chilliboy Ralepelle – fetcher
3. Jannie Du Plessis
4. Flip Van Der Merwe
5. Etzebeth – I think he can become the best 5 locks ever
6. Louw
7. Arno Botha – massive talent
8. Vermeulen
9. Hougaard
10. Jantjies
11. Raymond Rhule
12. De villiers
13. De Jong
14. Pietersen
15. Taute
16. Brits
17. CJ
18. Beast
19. J Kruger
20. Alberts
21. Pienaar
22. Lambie
28 Oct 2012, 14:59 pm
@hendrikp-44:
I wish too, but it aint gonna happen…
28 Oct 2012, 15:02 pm
@David-41: Copied and pasted from Sarugby website so I guess it’s pretty official?
28 Oct 2012, 15:02 pm
@Transformation-40: 4 Stormers, 6 Golden Lions. lol
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