Some surprises in Springbok squad
Brad Morgan
28 October 2008
South African domestic rugby season ended with the Sharks' 14-9 victory over the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup final. Three matches remain for the Springboks, however, in Europe.
The touring party, which was announced after the Currie Cup final, contained two uncapped players and, as usual, one or two surprises.
One of those surprises involved the captain of the team - not that there was a new skipper, but that John Smit was selected as a tighthead prop, a position which he had last played in at under-21 level.
First choice tighthead
While Smit has from time to time briefly packed down at prop for short stints in matches, the decision to choose him in the number-three jersey came as quite a shock because, by naming him captain, the selectors indicated that he is the Springboks' first choice in the position.
There are a number of reasons for playing Smit at tighthead. The first of those was a decision by the national selectors not to choose players who are playing abroad; that eliminated both CJ van der Linde and BJ Botha from consideration.
The second reason was the superb form of Bismarck du Plessis, who was selected ahead of Smit for the Sharks in the Currie Cup final, and who turned in a very impressive performance.
Springbok coach Pieter de Villiers, in explaining the decision to play Smit at prop, suggested that his days at hooker are over when he said: "We want to keep John in the system for as long as possible, and for him to do that we're thinking of a shift in position for him, from hooker to prop."
Brian Mujati, who struggled somewhat in his appearances for the Springboks earlier in the season, will serve as Smit's back-up.
With the Bok captain moving to tighthead prop, Chiliboy Ralepelle was named at hooker. His selection was a big surprise. He was injured for a major part of the season, and when he did return to action he played second fiddle to Derick Kuun for the Blue Bulls.
Flyhalf
Earl Rose was one of the two uncapped players selected and was another of the surprise selections.
He made the move to flyhalf for the Lions this season, but his form was inconsistent – good at times, poor at others; after the Lions went down to the Sharks in the Currie Cup semi-finals, his provincial coach Eugene Eloff suggested that Rose needed another year in the position before stepping up to international level.
Rose will serve as the number two flyhalf behind Ruan Pienaar, who turned out at scrumhalf for the Sharks. Pienaar is highly regarded as an all-round footballer, but he prefers scrumhalf to flyhalf, and has not yet proven himself in the number 10 jersey.
Eddie Jones, who helped Jake White guide the Springboks to the World Cup title in 2007, has said on many occasions that Pienaar would make an excellent number 10, in a similar mold to former Wallabies' flyhalf Stephen Larkham.
De Villiers, for his part, believes Pienaar has the skills to play the kind of running game that he envisions the Springboks playing. With Butch James announcing that he plans to retire from international rugby after the 2009 tour of South Africa by the British and Irish Lions, De Villiers said he is looking for James' replacement.
One concern about De Villiers' idea of changing the style of South Africa's play is that there were some hiccups during the past season, when the Boks ran too much in their own half; it appears that De Villiers is continuing to tamper with the traditional South African formula of a controlled game played from a platform of field position and set piece excellence. It hasn't worked in the past, nor does it seem wise to wander from a formula that has won the Springboks two World Cups.
Butch James, the number one choice at flyhalf during the recent international season, is playing for Bath in the English Premiership and was not considered for selection.
Heinrich Brussouw
Joining Rose as a newcomer in the South African squad was Cheetahs flanker Heinrich Brussouw. His selection, although maybe not expected, was more favourably received than that of Rose.
A very industrious player, Brussouw's workrate during both the Super 14 and Currie Cup impressed.
World Cup winning centre Jaque Fourie, who played little due to injury during the season, but who showed his class when he did appear, was named in the squad, as was another long-term injury casualty, lock Bakkies Botha, a 52-test veteran.
Possibly the most interesting choice that the selectors will have to make on the tour of England, Scotland and Wales will be that of the eighthman.
Pierre Spies is the incumbent and is more experienced than his challenger for the position, Ryan Kankowski. However, Spies has failed to recapture the form that he had before being sidelined with blood clots on his lungs just before the 2007 World Cup.
Kankowski, meanwhile, burnt up the Super 14, but was then injured in the Springboks' one-off test against Italy and spent quite a while out of action. When he did return, he was sensational and his case for inclusion in the first-choice team seems pretty strong. The question is whether or not the selectors agree with that point of view.
SPRINGBOK SQUAD
FORWARDSAndries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brüssow, Bismarck du Plessis, Ryan Kankowski, Victor Matfield, Tendai Mtawarira, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Brian Mujati, Danie Rossouw, John Smit (captain), Juan Smith, Pierre Spies, and Gurthrö Steenkamp
BACKSJean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Adrian Jacobs, Conrad Jantjes, Enrico Januarie, Jongi Nokwe, Odwa Ndungane, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Earl Rose, and Francois Steyn
Would you like to use this article in your publication
or on your website?
See: Using SAinfo material
