While my allegiances have often been divided throughout the history of the Tri-Nations and Rugby Championship, as a born Australian I’ve always had to cheer for the Wallabies when it comes to games against the Springboks.
Having said this, my South African origins always have me questioning the rugby happenings of the rainbow nation as well.
I will start by saying that when I think about and hear the constant criticism of the so called ‘Jakeball’ style of the rugby that South African rugby is known for, I think back to how it won the 2007 World Cup.
It is a style of rugby that when properly coached and executed can be devastating to play against.
Jake White did so successfully with Fourie du Preez at scrum-half and I feel now that the Boks have found a way to implement this with a wider running game. Though the laws are ever evolving, this type of rugby can also evolve and it is being achieved with the current showings of the team.
Current coach Heyneke Meyer is someone I feel is doing a very solid job in implementing an attacking and more mobile structure to South Africa’s attack. Meyer understands from his days at coaching the Bulls to a first Super Rugby title, the required balance between retaining possession and tactically offloading it when necessary.
This current influx of exciting rugby from South Africa can in my view largely be attributed to this balance, but also the class of players like Willie le Roux and Jan Serfontein.
A hot topic of debate at the moment is the amount of players that are being selected from outside South Africa, playing over in Europe or Japan and still having eligibility to play for their country.
This is a policy that the SARU has to crack down on unless they want to start letting the best talent in the country going overseas at a younger and younger age. The future of Super Rugby and the Currie Cup need the best players to be playing in South Africa.
While this really is a topic for another day, Meyer has been guilty of selecting players as more of a ‘safety first’ option in the past instead of blooding younger players into the current Springbok set-up.
The team that I feel would best serve South Africa heading into the Rugby Championship has been articulated on the basis of form, age and contracted club, however there will be one very noticeable exception to this rule to – a player I have never been able to rule out of the side, Bryan Habana.
| Springboks Team List | Caps | Age | Club | |
| 1 | Tendai Mtawarira | 55 | 28 | Sharks |
| 2 | Bismarck du Plessis | 60 | 30 | Sharks |
| 3 | Jannie du Plessis | 54 | 31 | Sharks |
| 4 | Eben Etzebeth | 23 | 22 | Stormers |
| 5 | Victor Matfield | 113 | 37 | Bulls |
| 6 | Schalk Burger | 71 | 31 | Stormers |
| 7 | Willem Alberts | 32 | 30 | Sharks |
| 8 | Duane Vermeulen | 19 | 28 | Stormers |
| 9 | Francois Hougaard | 26 | 28 | Bulls |
| 10 | Pat Lambie | 32 | 23 | Sharks |
| 11 | Bryan Habana | 97 | 31 | Touloun (France) |
| 12 | Jan Serfontein | 12 | 21 | Bulls |
| 13 | JP Pietersen | 54 | 28 | Sharks |
| 14 | Cornal Hendricks | 3 | 26 | Cheetahs |
| 15 | Willie le Roux | 15 | 24 | Cheetahs |
| Reserves | ||||
| Hooker | Adriaan Strauss | 34 | 28 | Cheetahs |
| Prop | Trevor Nyakane | 4 | 25 | Cheetahs |
| Prop | Marcel van der Merwe | 1 | 23 | Bulls |
| Lock | Lood de Jager | 3 | 21 | Cheetahs |
| Flanker | Marcell Coetzee | 16 | 23 | Sharks |
| Scrum-Half | Cobus Reinach | 0 | 24 | Sharks |
| Fly-half | Handré Pollard | 1 | 20 | Bulls |
| Wing | Lwazi Mvovo | 9 | 28 | Sharks |
| Total Caps 743 | ||||
| Median Age 26 | ||||
The full squad of 23 contains 9 Sharks, 5 Bulls, 5 Cheetahs, 3 Stormers players. There is the solitary inclusion of Habana from Toulon.
I personally feel that these are the players either older and more experienced who can help establish depth for when they move on, players who are partially established within the squad or newly debuted players who show massive potential for the future.
Harry Jones
Expert
Too harsh on Burger. Very happy to see Coetzee rise, too.
fanie
Guest
iDo you watch the same games that we watch.To pick Burger before Coetzee is laughable.Coetzee has been Man of the Match a few times.The difference between the two is Coetzee is not scared being tackled.Burgers rugby carreer came to a halt after he was tackled during the Sharks Stormers final.Hougaard pass is to slow and puts the whole backline under pressure.Victor does not play for eighty minutes and if Frans Steyn does not play we would have lost a great player.Botha to me is better than Victor.Agree with Armand we need players with multi skills.
SandBox
Roar Guru
2007 you had an easy run to the final. Wish you guys would stop crying into your Stellenbosch when things don't go your way and then boast at the top of the mountain when things do
It will be Hougaard Nick.
Armand van Zyl
Roar Guru
Like always the biggest hole to fill is 10. Pollard may well be the best we have. I like Lambie but on 15. He has had enough caps to prove himself at 10 but he never has, I don't get the hype over Lambie. Goosen gets injured when you speak his name. Also I am not happy with Matfield there. Age is not my problem it never was but he is a very limited player. Victor is great at two things, lineouts and experience but thay's about it. After watching Etzebeth, du Toit abd de Jager play I have no doubt in my mind that they would certainly provide more than Matfield. All three of those are brilliantly all round players. Respect to Victor but it's over now. The Springboks need players with a wide veriety of attributes not only two.
Armand van Zyl
Roar Guru
I agree with you on that one. I seriously can't see the value in having Jannie in the team. He is the worst defender in the team, his scrummaging is weak and he has the worst attitude. I hope he gets blown every time he backchats the ref. Coenie Oosthuizen also just doesn't cut it at tighthead. With limited stock I'd give the number 3 jersey to Francois Malherbe.
Colin Kennedy
Guest
Love your team Dominic. Interestiing to see everybody going a bit ga ga over Pollard. I don't think he has proven himself yet - definitely rate Lambie ahead of Pollard who seems to be to be just another Bulls 10 -- watched in the JWC and I didnt think he was that great. I prefer De Alende over Serfontein and again I think Hendricks is over hyped. Hope he proves me wrong if selected, but I doubt it - i think Savea will run right over the top of him. Pietersen is simply no longer good enough to play for the Boks.
Dominic
Roar Rookie
Gavin It is total crap to say that Meyer with the way the team has played their rugby over the last couple of seasons has a applied a stupid or ineffective rugby approach. Jannie, Burger and Alberts are all seasoned players who have been apart of that and are more than just one-out tank players or former shadows of themselves. JP is easily still one of the best Bok players in his position and I think you really are being naive on Hougaard just yet! If you even bothered to read any part of my article which you clearly haven't, I held off as much as possible from picking offshore based players and tried to form the best possible SA squad around players currently contracted to the SARU. Habana was my only overseas inclusion, however since seeing that Etzebeth will not be able to take part in the RC this year I have also included him as he was very hard to leave out in the first place. Your insistance on Brussouw is laughable when you consider his amount of injuries and his non inclusion really in the squad since the 2011 RWC.
Dominic
Roar Rookie
Suzy If that is the current case as far as injury is concerned than as far as changing the player selections in my selected team. I would bring in Louw for Etzebeth, who even originally for me to leave out was a very tough choice. Have Damian de Allande come onto the bench for Mvovo and re-call De villiers for JP, as I heard yesterday, Meyer plans on naming as captain until next years world cup.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
guys, at Boks level, is Hougaard seen as a scrum-half or a wing who can deputise at SH when Du preez and co are injured?
Gavin Fernie
Guest
When I first looked at the squad Dominic has chosen I was convinced that he had correctly listed the 'rugby ages' of many of the players, not the number of caps behind their names. If there was an equivalent to the old age resort for rugby players to the haven for opera singers depicted in the brilliant film 'Quartet', this would be the listing in many cases. Yes, it is possible that the 'Geriatrics' could win RWC 2015. The RWC is a lottery and luck and a dour Jakeball approach has won it most times anyway; so why not again? Even the flair All Blacks had to struggle against the French last time, RWC is not about rugby per se. It is about dour, dogged, nationalistic, over hyped patriotism, and sheer grit and endurance; much like trench warfare in the First World War. Rugby is not enhanced by the spectacle of the final, as was the soccer final last weekend. Going through the proposed squad was a gloomy business. Jannie Du Plessis Way over the hill...ponderous Eben Etzebeth.........wonderful player..........is his ankle fixed? Will he be the force he was...let us hope so? Matfield... can't argue.... ancient but still good Burger.... a shadow of his former self Alberts... a ponderous tank.... no speed... very little skill Hougaard.... the worst international scrumhalf in the business Serfontein... become a crash ball artist. De Allende a far better prospect Pietersen.... so full of himself, he could fly without wings or an engine Prospects totally ignored.... incredible! Pollard.... most exciting flyhalf since Naas Nizaam Carr... a brainy footballer Pieter Steph Du Toit... the best of the outstanding young locks Warren Whiteley.... brains, speed... not bulk and bash Cobus Reinach.... a real scrumhalf prospect, not a brain whacked tattoo artist To add to all this, Matfield is a very poor skipper under pressure... still a very good lineout tactician/ practitioner. Why no Francois Louw and Heinrich Brussouw? Because we are addicted to bulk, bash and brawn.... not speed, athletic skill and fitness... rugby nous/ A strange word in our national setup. That is why we have not beaten the All Blacks since 2009,,, and even if we beat them once this year, we consistently fail to beat them and the Wallabies over a period of time. Why/ Poor coaching... Jakeball approach,,, politics... and a stupid rugby approach
superba
Guest
About time that Jannie du Plessis was put out to pasture .While his scrumming is ok his tackling is woeful and he gives away penalties .Like Flip vd Merwe.
Nek Minnut
Guest
Those that want foriengn based selections need to take notice of point 3.
Suzy Poison
Guest
Not a bad squad Nek Minnut. Assuming Matfield is your captain? I predict at least four changes to your squad. Firstly Jean De Villiers in back from injury, and Meyer has stated that he sees him as the Captain for the World Cup. Secondly, you have picked three players who not available. 1. Fourie Du Preez is out injured for six months. 2. Etzebeth has a broken toe, and won't take part in the RC. 3. JP Pietersen's contract means he has to go back to Japan.
Agree Chan Wee, the positive about failing to reach the finals does provide more recovery time ;)
Magic Sponge
Guest
I think the Boks pack will get them the RWC this year.
Chan Wee
Guest
@ Dominic : i think Eben E is injured again and Botha will play with Victor. i think Flow returned for Bath at the end of the season. He will be ahead of Burgur at 6. Burgur will probably play off the bench. BOKs will experiment against Pumas but will play the strongest available team against NZ & OZ.
Chan Wee
Guest
@ biltongbek : seems things are nicely falling into place for BOks despite bad luck in super league. though there are not many in sxv final round, that will help the boks to rest and recover and condition and practice for the next round of internationals. NZ & OZ on the other hand seem likely to progress to the finals, thus will come after a relatively longer season.
Chan Wee
Guest
J S is destined to be JDV 's heir apparent. next 12 and next skipper in a few years. best U20 player and baby bok skipper of 2012 champion side. am sure JDV will stop playing tests after the world cup. too bad JJE this season has not fired. he was a very good defensive center.
Neville
Guest
Hier kom die bokke, hier kom die bokke, da da da da da die... Translation: Here come the Boks