Springbok squad announced for Rugby Championship.

The Springbok squad announcement was announced just after the Chiefs vs Brumbies final.

Here it is.

Loosehead Props.
Tendai Mtawarira
Gurthro Steenkamp (overseas based)
Trevor Nyakane

Hookers
Bismarck du Plessis
Adriaan Strauss
Chiliboy Ralapelle

Tight Head Props
Jannie du Plessis
Coenie Oosthuizen.

Second Row
Eben Etzebeth
Juandre Kruger (overseas based)
Flip v d Merwe
Franco v d Merwe

Backrowers.
Siya Kolisi
Marcell Coetzee
Francois Louw (overseas based)
Willem Alberts
Duane Vermeulen

Half backs
Fourie du Preez (overseas based)
Ruan Pienaar (overseas based)
Jano Vermaak (overseas based)

Flyhalves
Morne Steyn (overseas based)
Patrick Lambie

Midfielders
Jean de Villiers
JJ Engelbrecht
Jan Serfontein
Juan de Jongh

Back three.
Bryan Habana (overseas based)
Willie le Roux
Bjorn Basson
Zane Kirchner (overseas based)

Hopefully DuPreez and Vermaak are 1st choice

No Spies? Perhaps it won't be as bad as you thought it would.

Jande Kruger overseas? Who's he signed for?

Kruger is going to Racing Metro.

Spies is injured.
JP Pietersen is injured, but also leaving for France.
Arno Botha is injured.
Johan Goosen is injured.

Kruger seems to struggle to settle in SA doesn't he. Made his name with the Saints and then is only back in SA to become a Bok and he's off to France.

Does selecting foreign based players weaken SA rugby as there's no repercussions for moving over seas?

Of course it does.

Ask yourself this. How does Meyer make these selections?

Does he get tapes of all the players that play overseas of every game and then watch each and every minute to decide whether they are good enough,r does he select lurely on reputation?

What does this say to the players at home?

You can play abroad for money money because either you have no chance as thecoach is selecting his favourites, which means we don't ever build depth at international level.

Or

You can play overseas for more moneyas you stand a chance to be selected, which in turn weakens our domestic rugby.

This is the biggest F up of note.

I am severely peed of by this

He keeps persisting with Coenie at TH oddly. That lad could be a truly world class LH or backup Int TH, up to Meyer I guess.

Is Brussow left out because of Japan? He's been immense of late.

No he has been left out because Meyer doesn't rate him

I'll swap you for Haskell, he seems like a Meyer type of player

Nah, we have plenty of those.

Frans Steyn injured?

Yeah and has been woefully poor this season, he was dropped halfway through the season.

Not a good return to SA

Ah, he seemed quality a season or two ago. Will he carry on out there or chase the money do you think?

To be honest I don't think he has the motivation to work hard anymore.

Being 25 years old, a good couple of million in the bank, he will just play as long as he doesn't have to try too hard.

Looks like more of the same from the Boks then. I think they'd struggle if it wasn't for the comparable issues for the other SANZAR nations. I wonder if Argentina won't finish a little higher up the table this year.

No need to think about it, it is a foregone conclusion

fdp? my gosh I thought he'd retired long ago. Was wondering whether Habana would be included. Without him these last few seasons SA would have been in a worse pos than they are. Hard to imagine a Habana-less Bok side- one of the very best in world rugby for the last few seasons.

Still looks fairly predictable doesnt it? key injuries yet again though...

I think the bok players have the longest seasons of anyone at the moment. The injuries hardly surprise me.

Ah bollix. Was hoping we would get Kirchner early

Hey stop stealing all our Irish boks! ...

Seriously though, I thought SA announced recently that they wouldn't be selecting overseas based players?

I doubt SA could afford not to select overseas players now the precedence has been set.

Botha, Habana, JP, Kruger, Louw, FdP, Fourie, Steenkamp, Russouw, ....to name a few.

So from that squad what does the 1st XV look like?

I'm guessing:

1.Beast 2.B du Plessis 3.J du Plessis 4.Etzebeth 5.Kruger 6.Coetzee 7.Alberts 8.Vermeulen 9.Pienaar 10.Lambie 11.Habana 12.Du Jongh 13.Engelbrecht 14.Basson 15.Kirchner

Am I a millions miles away? I suppose I'm wrong to drop Steyn and De Villiers from a practical perspective - they will surely start.

I reckon it would be nearer to

Beast - BDP - JDP
Etz - Kruger
Alberts - Vermeulen - Louw

Pienaar - Steyn
Serfontein - Englebrecht
Habana - Le Roux - Basson

funnyExiledScot wrote:So from that squad what does the 1st XV look like?

I'm guessing:

1.Beast 2.B du Plessis 3.J du Plessis 4.Etzebeth 5.Kruger 6.Coetzee 7.Alberts 8.Vermeulen 9.Pienaar 10.Lambie 11.Habana 12.Du Jongh 13.Engelbrecht 14.Basson 15.Kirchner

Am I a millions miles away? I suppose I'm wrong to drop Steyn and De Villiers from a practical perspective - they will surely start.

Close, but you can substitute Coetzee with Louw.
Pienaar with du Preez
Morne Steyn with Lambie
De Villiers with De Jongh.

It may not be the starting XV you'd want, but it's still a pretty handy side. Hard to argue with the pack, whatever combination is compiled from that squad.

Will need to get my fixture list out for the tournament. Hard to beat getting up on a Saturday morning with a bacon sarnie to watch the SH sides batter the hell out of each other. Different game to watching Edinburgh play week in week out.....