The thirty man Springbok squad to contest the Rugby World Cup in France in September was named in Cape Town today.
There were no last minute surprises and coach Jake White said he was happy with the selected squad.
“It’s an exciting mix of players many of whom have been together since I started my career as head coach of the Springboks.
“I have great confidence in these players. They will carry the flag for the nation during the tournament with pride.â€
SARU President Oregan Hoskins encouraged the squad to do their best at the World Cup.
“Once the tournament starts, the whole nation will be looking up to these fine young South Africans to reflect a proud history of rugby excellence that has come to be associated with the Springboks.
“The players leave our shores with our blessings and good wishes.
“It’s a proud moment, not only for the players and their families, but also for all our supporters, in South Africa and abroad.â€
The full Springbok squad in alphabetical order:
(number of caps in brackets)
Bakkies Botha (35) – Lock
BJ Botha (10) – Prop
Gary Botha (9) – Hooker
Schalk Burger (31) – Loose forward
Jean De Villiers (31) – Centre
Fourie Du Preez (30) – Scrumhalf
Os Du Randt (72) – Prop
Jaque Fourie (29) – Centre
Bryan Habana (27) – Wing
Butch James (18) – Flyhalf
Ricky Januarie (18) – Scrumhalf
Victor Matfield (58) – Lock
Percy Montgomery (85) – Fullback
Johann Muller (16) – Lock
Akona Ndungane (8) – Wing
Wynand Olivier (17) – Centre
Ruan Pienaar (12) – Scrumhalf
JP Pietersen (6) – Wing
Andre Pretorius (24) – Flyhalf
Danie Rossouw (24) – Loose forward
Bob Skinstad (38) – Loose forward
Pierre Spies (9) – Loose forward
John Smit (67) – Hooker (Captain)
Juan Smith (32) – Loose forward
Gurthro Steenkamp (11) – Prop
Francois Steyn (8) – Utility back
Albert van den Berg (46) – Lock
Wikus van Heerden (7) – Flank
CJ van der Linde (39) – Prop
Ashwin Willemse (16) – Wing
Thank goodness – no surprises…
There are only 21 players in the list above. I believe the full list is as follow:
Bakkies Botha (35, lock)
BJ Botha (10, tighthead prop)
Gary Botha (9, hooker)
Schalk Burger (31, flank)
Jean de Villiers (31, inside centre)
Fourie du Preez (30, scrum-half)
Os du Randt (72, loosehead prop)
Jaque Fourie (29, outside centre)
Bryan Habana (27, wing)
Butch James (18, fly-half)
Ricky Januarie (18, scrum-half)
Victor Matfield (58, lock)
Percy Montgomery (85, full-back)
Johann Muller (16, lock)
Akona Ndungane (8, wing)
Wynand Olivier (17, centre)
Ruan Pienaar (12, scrum-half)
JP Pietersen (6, wing/full-back)
André Pretorius (24, fly-half)
Danie Rossouw (24, utility forward)
Bob Skinstad (38, loose forward)
Pierre Spies (9, loose forward)
John Smit (67, hooker – captain)
Juan Smith (32, flank)
Gurthro Steenkamp (11, loosehead prop)
Francois Steyn (8, utility back)
Albert van den Berg (46, lock)
Wikus van Heerden (7, flank)
CJ van der Linde (39, prop)
Ashwin Willemse (16, wing)
Of this squad I am not sure if Albert vd Berg or Wynand Olivier deserves their places. One of the biggest losers must be Kabamba Floors, on the other hand Am I glad Wikus made it after a very good season and trip down under.
Thanks Spyker – bit of a gremlin in the works there…
what happened to julies? out of the wilderness, one good game and then never heard from again? was he badly injured or did he have a fallout with the bok coaches??
ja, I thought the last couple of games in the Super 14 when Julies played (can’t remember if he was a substitute) he was part of some telling moves, pulling the defence up to the last second to release the player on his outside to score or break the line. I thought he was better on attack than Olivier. Dunno what his tackle success rate was though.
Agree – How Wynand ‘Meisiekind’ Olivier got in is a mystery???? Julies has been phenomenal – even in Provinces’ recent debacle this weekend – he stood out!
I would have liked to have seen Bismarck du Plessis there as well!
I was dissapointed in Bismarck’s penalty count in the test against NZ and to be fair he has not been in the “Jake White picture” for that long and only made it into the test due to J Smit’s injury, therefore someone else who has been in the picture for longer would have missed out. His time will come, if he does not go and play for £££.
Bismarck was a bit over-enthusiastic on his debut, spilling a few balls and not offloading to Paulse for that try against the ABs. If Gary B can play like he did in the S14 we should be ok.
White on Waylon, Bismarck and Hougaard:
“Look, it was helluva tough because both Waylon and Bismarck played well when given an opportunity, but I’m pleased with the final call.
“We weren’t sure if we should have gone with two or three hookers and in the end Bismarck was unlucky that we went for two. As far as Wynand’s inclusion goes, he’s played a big role for us last season and covers inside and outside centre as well as wing.
“We felt we had enough cover in midfield given that Bryan Habana and Ashwin Willemse can cover outside centre and Butch James and Frans Steyn inside centre.
“After watching the player (Hougaard) against the calibre of teams like Australia and New Zealand we decided that Andre would be the best option. His (Pretorius’) experience also played a big role. There is a night and day difference between in terms of caps between Pretorius and the other options at flyhalf and he’s beaten England and New Zealand which is a huge bonus from a psychological point of view when we face those teams at the World Cup.â€
Bloemshark, fair comment, it was always going to be a difficult task picking only 30 players after a very good super 14, where we could almost have picked 3 players for any position if you think about the form the guys showed during the S14. I suppose there will always be the unlucky ones. I think the biggest mistake though is having Alistair Coetzee as backline coach, but then again the Boks might just surprise us with a different game plan during the WC or we might win it on defence.