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Springboks Bryan Habana looks to get a pass away as the Wallabies Matt Giteau tackles him to the ground during the Australia v South Africa Rugby test at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Saturday, August 5, 2006. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Peter De Villiers has named his first South African Test team of the year, featuring potential Lion tamers who will look to avenge the series loss in 1997.
John Smit, the World Cup winning captain, and most experienced member of the side, will captain the International Rugby Board number two ranked nation.
While the Lions results will not directly affect the IRB rankings, if the All Blacks lose to France this weekend, the Springboks could incongruously enter the series as the number one ranked team.
It is a team with few surprises, containing 16 players from the last Springbok side that played against England in the slaughter at Twickenham in November last year.
The most debated positions of the squad, at number 10 and fullback, will be represented by Ruan Pienaar and Francois Steyn, respectively.
The selection of Steyn offers a few surprises, with many believing that JP Pieterson – who will play right wing – would fill the custodian role.
However, while not a traditional number 15, clearly De Villiers believes that the thunderous boot of the utility three quarter may be employed to advantage against the Lions side.
However, it must be remembered that Steyn has only just recovered from a knee injury.
While Ruan Pienaar is highly rated by the South African rugby fraternity, the non-selection of Morné Steyn, heads and shoulders the finest first five in the country, will raise some eyebrows.
However, he is included in the bench, and to put a positive slant on it, he is uncapped at Test level.
A debut match against a formidable looking Lions side may not be the best introduction to international rugby.
In positive selection news, in form Cheetahs flanker Heinrich Brussow gets a start at blind side in the place of injured blonde bomber Schalk Burger.
The impressive Free State scavenger ironically was left out of the original squad, but walks straight into the Test team, no doubt on the heels of his eye-catching performance against the Lions last week.
The 2009 Super 14 champions are well represented with eight Bulls in the side, with Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha being named in the starting XV, while Gurthrö Steenkamp, Steyn and Danie Rossouw will be on the bench.
Along with Steyn and Pieterson, Habana will round out the Springbok three quarter line.
The 2007 IRB player of the year has been in mixed form this year, much like his Lions 2008 counterpart Shane Williams.
However, naming the former prodigy from the famous Johannesburg sporting institution King Edward VII school, was never going to be in doubt.
The midfield consists of incumbents Adi Jacobs and Jean De Villiers.
The Stormers number 12, who injured himself against the Hurricanes in the Super 14 back in April, has not played any top level rugby for nearly two months.
However, the man who is widely considered the premier inside centre in world rugby, is a natural selection for the Springbok team.
While Pienaar’s inclusion at standoff is a debatable point, it must still be remembered that he is the incumbent number ten.
Like De Villiers and Steyn, he has just recovered from injury, and his freshly repaired ankle will be something that the Lions will be very aware of.
In the loose, it is as close to a full strength loose forward trio as the Springboks could field.
While Burger is injured, he has not had a standout season, and the back row compilation of Brussow, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies will be the most analysed triumvirate by the Lions brains trust.
Spies, in particular, was in vintage touch in the dying stages of the Super 14, and with the greatest respect to the eventual Lions number eight, there is no player in their team who can match the flying Bulls caboose.
The lock forwards are no surprise, with the 135 Test, World Cup winning combination of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha not only automatic selections for the Springboks, but would probably be the contenders for a current World XV.
While Botha’s physical menace will have the Lions forwards on alert, it is the aerial brilliance of the King of Loftus, the supreme commander of the South African aerial attack, Victor Matfield, who could almost single-handedly upset Paul O’Connell’s Lions party.
The front row is not only picked on form, but on combination, with an all Sharks amalgamation fronting up to take on the one area of the Lions that has been consistently brilliant all tour.
The bench is fabulously strong, containing quality and impact, which will no doubt be required when De Villiers signals for the reserve guard at ABSA Stadium.
All up it is a squad with 707 Test caps, currently the most experienced Test squad unveiled so far by any team since the start of the Southern internationals.
Steyn is the only uncapped player in the 22, while Smit leads the World Champions with 81 Test appearances, and Matfield has registered 80.
The match will be the fourth such to be played at Durban, with the Lions winning their last clash in 1997, but the Springboks boasting the superior ledger, taking the tourists scalp in 1924 and 1962.
All in all, it will be the 44th clash between the two teams since 1891. South Africa has won 21 encounters, the Lions 16, and 6 Tests have been drawn.
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