Pietersen boost for Boks
21 Nov 2012
JP Pietersen has been named to start for the Springboks despite having to undergo a late fitness test, while Elton Jantjies has been included on the bench.
Pietersen was initially expected to miss the clash against England at Twickenham, but his groin injury has responded well to treatment, although he will have to prove he is completely recovered on Friday before he is cleared. Prop Gurthro Steenkamp also struggled with a leg ailment at the beginning of the week, but will start.
‘It’s great to be able to field an unchanged team,’ said Bok coach Heyneke Meyer. ‘We’ve been able to show some consistency in selection on this tour and that is a good thing.
‘The players have worked extremely hard on the training field and it wasn’t easy to select the match 23 for each of the three Tests, but I’m happy that we managed to stick to combinations.’
Jantjies is included on the bench for the first time on this tour, replacing Morné Steyn. The injury to reserve prop CJ van der Linde also sees Pat Cilliers promoted to the match 23.
‘The plan was always to give Elton a run on the tour,’ said Meyer. ‘He’s shown earlier in the season that he can play Test rugby. It’s also good for his development as a player to experience the conditions here and to play in front of a big crowd like Twickenham.’
Meyer said the demands of a long season were obvious when looking at the team.
‘It’s been a long season, with most of the guys carrying knocks and not able to train. The challenge is to get up for it mentally first and foremost and then bring the physicality,’ he said.
‘I am worried. I can see that mentally it’s been a long season. Having said that, I know this team and they’re warriors who want to win for their country and the guys next to them.’
The English media has demanded an elevated level of physicality from what they deemed a poor showing in their defeat against Australia. Meyer said he was braced for an immense challenge in that regard.
‘As a South African looking back, I didn’t think England teams were particularly tough. My coaching stint in Leicester, working with guys like Lewis Moody and Martin Corry, who are probably the toughest guys I’ve coached, changed that perception completely,’ he said.
‘Our guys know that they had the edge in South Africa physically because it was at the end of the northern hemisphere season. Now we’re here at the end of ours and they are fresh and we need to toughen up. Maybe in a sense they underestimated the Wallabies, but they will be up for South Africa.’
Springboks – 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.
Subs: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
329 Comments
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21 Nov 2012, 12:08 pm
I dont see Jps name or Eltons?
Keo?
21 Nov 2012, 12:09 pm
Would it not make more sense to start with Heinke and play Guthro off the bench?
21 Nov 2012, 12:09 pm
Now Lwazi is playing 14 and 23.
Talented.
21 Nov 2012, 12:11 pm
@John Galt-1: Elton Jantjies is player 21 on reserves. No JP however.
21 Nov 2012, 12:11 pm
Yeah, nice continuity from HM.
Most importantly, that bench looks so much better with Elton and Pat Cilliers there.
21 Nov 2012, 12:12 pm
@Loki-4:
Yeah, when i originally logged on, M Steyn was at 21.
They have fixed that but not JP.
21 Nov 2012, 12:12 pm
@John Galt-3:
Following in the footsteps of Naas Botha: http://www.emailjokez.com/pictures/more/38493_Help-has-arrived-for-the-Springboks.htm?tag_name=bok
21 Nov 2012, 12:13 pm
@John Galt-6: It’s paint by numbers today for the Keo mob.
21 Nov 2012, 12:14 pm
Now we just need Taute to start at fullback and Kirchner to drop out of the match squad.
And play a real wing instead of Hougaard. If you put him on the bench as scrumhalf and wing cover that is something else, but surely he has to prove himself as wing first in for example super rugby before he can be considered the best winger in SA?
21 Nov 2012, 12:14 pm
Is it not the first time this meyer has been able to select the same starting 15 if jp does indeed recover
21 Nov 2012, 12:15 pm
finally…!!
lambie and jantjies sharing bok10 duties…
hope lambie has a great game and jantjies gets good time and does great too…
and juan to carve the poms up like a perfect sunday roast…!!
21 Nov 2012, 12:15 pm
Excellent stuff….well done HM…
I am thrilled JP P is fit, and Jantjes on the bench is fantastic…
HM steadily moving away from that skop en jag artist , thank the merciful heavens…
21 Nov 2012, 12:17 pm
9..hougaard has proved himself at wing in superrugby many times over already…way more than mvovo and rhule
21 Nov 2012, 12:20 pm
Yes, well done Meyer – this is better than expected. I fully expected to see Morne Steyn at 10 and Jaco Taute at 13. Sanity has prevailed and a win is almost guaranteed. Now we just need Pienaar and Lambie to forget everything Meyer has told them …
21 Nov 2012, 12:21 pm
Moving in the right direction…
Slowly.
But moving nonetheless.
21 Nov 2012, 12:22 pm
almost got it right.
would have preferred mvovo and taute to start.
hopefully we will see them early in the second half with hougaard moving to 9.
21 Nov 2012, 12:22 pm
The selection of Elton Jantjies on the bench instead of Morne Steyn is difficult to grasp.
In fact, it doesn’t make sense to me at all.
He offers nothing that Lambie doesn’t already bring to the table, and offers no alternative should Lambie’s strengths not be what is required to pull this game out of the fire.
It can only be due to political pressure.
21 Nov 2012, 12:22 pm
@John Galt-5:
Is it just me but i can see Pat Cilliers developing into a Greg Somerville kind of player if he ups his game in near future?
21 Nov 2012, 12:23 pm
am shocked! is HM really coming around?
21 Nov 2012, 12:23 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl-13:
So you think Hougaard is the best and most promising (fit) wing in SA at the moment?
21 Nov 2012, 12:24 pm
Now give Schalk Brits, Heinke van der Merwe and Marcell Coetzee some decent game time – 40 minutes for Coetzee sounds good as he injects so much more pace than Alberts. And if Flip van der Merwe comes on, explain to him that another yellow card will result in him forfeiting his match fee.
21 Nov 2012, 12:25 pm
@Tacitus-17: You must be trolling even more than normal today, right Tac?
Or do you really believe in Morne Steyn as the ultimate Super Sub?
21 Nov 2012, 12:26 pm
@Tacitus-17:
EJ is not the same kind of player then Lambie, Lambie has enough physicality to shift to 12 if need be, EJ would go “bunny in the headlights” should he be asked to go to 12
21 Nov 2012, 12:26 pm
@Tacitus-17: It’s called bravery, and it’s a great thing to see from a coach.
21 Nov 2012, 12:27 pm
@Tacitus-17 If it is as you say, I’m glad. There was no way HM was gonna listen to anyone else. Not even ***** stood a chance with him.
21 Nov 2012, 12:29 pm
@wpjoulekkading-22:
No. I believe in Morne Steyn as the backup policy if we want to reach a 57% Year 1 winning ratio at all costs.
Giving Elton a go for 20 minutes just for the fun of it shouldn’t come into the equation at all.
If you want a running flyhalf, Lambie already provides that. If you want to change your gameplan to grind out the last 20 minutes in a tight kickfest, then Morne is the man to bring on.
Elton just brings more of what Lambie has to offer, just not quite as good.
Tactially it doesn’t make sense. You don’t bring on a new flyhalf as a supersub. Your flyhalf is what your entire game is built around. The only reason to take off a flyhalf is if he is either injured or having a poor game, or if you want to change your style of play completely.
Then Elton serves no purpose.
21 Nov 2012, 12:30 pm
Nice team, shame the game plan will stay the same
21 Nov 2012, 12:30 pm
***** = Je-sus
21 Nov 2012, 12:32 pm
Damn, would like to see Mvovo start for a change ahead of Hougaard.
Heck about time fMS makes way for more deserving players. Hougaard seems to be the last Bull to hold on to an undeserving starting spot!!
21 Nov 2012, 12:32 pm
Jaute for Nik Naks would be ideal.
Great news to hear JP is fit. Lambie better be ready to make lots of tackles down channel!
21 Nov 2012, 12:32 pm
@Anomander-27:
Hey Anomander. You an old blogger with a new name, or a new blogger with the name of a very old guy?
21 Nov 2012, 12:33 pm
Nice to see continuity.
Just wonder what the point was to take Steyn along.
Think a nice break at home could have been much better for him than being relegated to tourist and 10 minute cameo
21 Nov 2012, 12:34 pm
HM continues to confuse me…….perhaps he is not as staid and vokmaarvoort thinking as a lot of us believe?
We are just a tweak or 2 away from the best 23 at this point in time given the injuries, etc….
I am impressed…..well done HM…credit where it is due ….
21 Nov 2012, 12:34 pm
@Tacitus-26: If you want a better player, you pick Elton over Steyn. None of this insurance policy ****. Lambie is chosen to do a job. If he is unable, then Jantjies must be given a chance. Morne doesn’t anything coming off the bench. If you wanted to speed up the game, he’s not the solution. If you wanted to slow the game, you wouldn’t have your flyhalf do that. If you. wanted to play territory, all 10′s in the squad are equally competent\incompetent in this regard. Morne should only be considered as a starting 10. If he can’t crack it, he shouldn’t make the bench.
21 Nov 2012, 12:36 pm
@pompies2-34:
I just wouldn’t use the toughest game on tour as a chance to experiment. I’d do it against Scotland, and bring in the experience against England.
21 Nov 2012, 12:37 pm
@Tacitus-31: You have read Malazan Book of Fallen ?! New commenter
21 Nov 2012, 12:37 pm
could hm be a blogger on this site? this is pretty much the side that the average blogger has been calling for most of the season. now if they could start attacking with the backline instead of the forwards…
21 Nov 2012, 12:38 pm
@Tacitus-26: “If you want a running flyhalf, Lambie already provides that. If you want to change your gameplan to grind out the last 20 minutes in a tight kickfest, then Morne is the man to bring on.”
This is the problem. I wouldn’t want the game hanging in the balance with 20 minutes to go. The result should be in the bag already. So the Boks are ahead by 3 with 20 mins to go. You reckon we engage in a kickfest and surrender possession all the time? Or do we deny the opposition possession?
21 Nov 2012, 12:38 pm
@Tacitus-35: Remember how Morne got his start to test rubgy?
21 Nov 2012, 12:39 pm
@pompies2-38: On the bright side we won’t be bringing on CJ to s crew the pooch!
21 Nov 2012, 12:39 pm
@Anomander-36:
Welcome. You’ve just entered the real Realm of Darkness.
21 Nov 2012, 12:41 pm
@pompies2-38:
We will do what Heyneke’s gameplan dictates, which is play the game in their half. Meaning we will NOT be running it in our own half, and will therefore need a tactical kicker to get us into positions where we CAN have the luxury of retaining the ball.
21 Nov 2012, 12:43 pm
@Anomander-40: I don’t see it as simply. For any coach, the idea behind substitutions is to affect the game. It’s up to the player to effect that change. A substitute must be ready to enter the game from the 1st to the 80th minute. Their role description might change depending on when the substitution is made, but they have to step up. No excuses.
21 Nov 2012, 12:43 pm
@Tacitus-41: Oh I know, I know. I have lurked for ages
21 Nov 2012, 12:45 pm
@Tacitus-42: Morne’s not clearly better than either Lambie or Jantjies in this regard.
21 Nov 2012, 12:45 pm
I am almost happy with this team. Kirchner kept losing possession with Ball in hand. He gets tackled and gets turned over.
Drop that man.. The rest is quite refreshing, but I’d like to have an 8th-man with more skills. Vermuelen will do. Like Even Josh Straus or Van NieKerk.
I am impressed he was brave enough (by his standards) by putting Janjties on the bench and keeping De Jongh. I am happy about that..
21 Nov 2012, 12:47 pm
@Tbozknows-46: Given HM’s game plan, Kirchner is the best option for a risk-free fullback. Solid defense, good high-ball skills and a decent boot.
21 Nov 2012, 12:47 pm
@pompies2-45:
Morne’s clearly better than what Lambie has dished up at test level thus far from a kicking perspective. I’m hoping for an improvement from Lambie this Saturday.
As for Elton. He has never displayed his ability at test level, thus we have no idea what he is capable of in this regard.
I wouldn’t want to be betting on the unknown in an away test against England, that’s for sure.
21 Nov 2012, 12:49 pm
@Tacitus-26: Tac, I completely agree with all the statements you made. I am just glad to see Monre is not in the 23 member squad, because now all these negative bloggers on this site can shut up. Now they will see that our biggest problem is not flyhalf, but at scrumhalf and inside center. Pienaar kicks away all the good ball he gets and give all the bad ball to the flyhalf. When the flyhalf give the ball to Jean he goes for the crash ball. I doubt if JDJ and the wings will see ball at all during this match.
21 Nov 2012, 12:49 pm
@Tbozknows-46:
As for De Jongh, I hope he has plenty of clean breaks, setting up at least 3 good tries. But crucially, I hope he gets tackled a yard from the goal line each time, having to offload to the next guy to score the try.
Else we’ll be exposed to his damnawful disco moves in a Bok jersey. And I don’t know if I want the 7 points THAT much.
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