Rugby Championship 2014, BOK squad.

In less than two weeks the Springboks will start their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Loftus. This will be the third edition of the Rugby championship and it is vital for South Africa to gain bonus points in each of their two matches against Argentina in order to remain in the running for the trophy come their away leg to the Antipodes.

In 2012 the race was over by the time South Africa landed in New Zealand, by then they had lost a match to Australia and drew away to Argentina, with New Zealand leading South Africa by 5 log points.

By the same stage last year South Africa found themselves neck and neck with New Zealand and had to at least earn a bonus point out of the encounter, but fate intervened and Bismarck du Plessis was carded and South Africa played with 14 men for 49 minutes of the match.

The few yellow cards reducing New Zealand to 13 men for the last 6 minutes of the game was scant consolation as by then the Horse have already bolted, and with it the trophy.

Not known for the most attacking side in world rugby, the Springboks went all out in their final match vs New Zealand, but unaccustomed to all out attacking rugby cost South Africa dearly as their systems were simply not good enough to defend on their own mistakes, a fact New Zealand exploited to the fullest.

SO two season done and 0-4 against New Zealand. Heyneke Meyer has his work cut out for him, whether you want to make excuses for the results in 2013 the reality is the All Blacks will have the belief that they have the wood over Heyneke Meyer, and if he wants any chance of making the grade at the next World Cup, he must beat the All Blacks this year.

Meyer has selected his squad, and it is important to analyse where he is at with his squad.

There are as always unavailable players due to injury and one cannot help but recognise Meyer will indeed miss his Mainstay Fourie du Preez, ironically enough not due to club issues this time round, but rather injury.

Squad selected

Front Row

Trevor Nyakane Toyota FS Cheetahs Prop 4
Tendai Mtawarira Cell C Sharks Prop 55
Gurthrö Steenkamp Toulouse, France Prop 51


Adriaan Strauss Toyota FS Cheetahs Hooker 34
Schalk Brits Saracens, England Hooker 7
Bismarck du Plessis Cell C Sharks Hooker 60

Jannie du Plessis Cell C Sharks Prop 54
Frans Malherbe DHL Western Province Prop 2

Locks
Eben Etzebeth DHL Western Province Lock 23
Bakkies Botha Toulon, France Lock 79
Lodewyk de Jager Toyota FS Cheetahs Lock 3
Victor Matfield Vodacom Blue Bulls Lock 113

Backrow
Willem Alberts Cell C Sharks Loose forward 32
Marcell Coetzee Cell C Sharks Loose forward 16
Francois Louw Bath, England Loose forward 30
Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje Toyota FS Cheetahs Loose forward 1
Duane Vermeulen DHL Western Province No 8 19

Halfback
Francois Hougaard Vodacom Blue Bulls Scrumhalf 28
Cobus Reinach Cell C Sharks Scrumhalf 0
Ruan Pienaar Ulster, N Ireland Scrumhalf 76

Flyhalf
Morné Steyn Stade Francais, France Flyhalf 56
Handré Pollard Vodacom Blue Bulls Flyhalf 1

Midfield
Jean de Villiers (captain) DHL Western Province Centre 96
Jan Serfontein Bulls Centre 12
Damian De Allende DHL Western Province Centre / Wing 0

Wing
Bryan Habana Toulon, France Wing 97
Cornal Hendricks Toyota FS Cheetahs Wing 3
Lwazi Mvovo Cell C Sharks Wing 9

Full Back
Patrick Lambie Cell C Sharks Flyhalf / Fullback 32
Willie le Roux Toyota FS Cheetahs Fullback / Wing 15


The only real surprise is Gurthro Steenkamp, there are better props at home, but other than that considering who is available not a bad squad.

It is most likely that Ruan Pienaar will partner Morne Steyn this championship, and in that lies the biggest concern, both these players are confidence players, and considering that Morne Steyn struggles to gain the starting berth for his club, how confident could he be? But more pertinent, in what kind of form is he in?

Ruan Pienaar for some or other reason struggles with confidence as soon as he puts on the green jersey, he takes a second too long to make decisions and his general play behind the ruck can at best be described as pedantic. Something the Springboks can ill afford.

Although Meyer has not really evolved the Springbok game, he has improved the manner in which South Africa executes and the pace at which they generate front foot ball at the break down.

With Bismarck du Plessis the wrecker and pilferer alongside Louw and Vermeulen (likely the most underrated eighthman in the game), Adriaan Strauss brings bags full of ball carrying ability.
No matter who partners Victor Matfield, be it Etzebeth, de Jager or BAkkies, the engine room will be very physical and Etzebeth and de Jager in particular loves nothing more than to pulverise the defence when they get an opportunity with ball in hand.

The back row does lack some pace, Willem ALberts in my view the cause, although he can break the gainline seemingly at will, he does not often look for anything other than breaking the line and goig to ground, both Louw and Vermeulen on the other hand has executed some exquisite offloads putting Habana or any other supporting runners into space.

Even though Damian de Allende have no experience at international level it is likely that he will partner Jean de Villiers as he has been playing with him for two seasons, this will be a masterstroke by Meyer as de Allende is a very strong ball carrier, and much more inclined to put the support runner into space.

Habana is like old wine, getting better by the season and with Cornal Hendricks on the other side the Boks will have Willie e Roux as the catalyst to create space.

This Bok team can win the Rugby championship, but all depends on what Meyer is going to get our of Ruan PIenaar and Morne Steyn.

It's good to see Reinach and Pollard selected. I don't see Meyer starting games with that youth and inexperience they have. Which is a shame because Hougaard is not a halfback in my opinion. He may be quick but his pass is not. Pienaar at test level is also suspect to hesitating as you say and combine that with Morné Steyn at 10 and SA are at a big disadvantage already.

Only injury will force Meyer's hand but I'd dearly love to see him gamble with the young pairing first up against Argentina. Simply because the pressure is off in this game. Argentina can't live with teams on hard, dry grounds. They have been thrashed by SA in both of their outings in the first RC matches. I don't see that changing this year. All the more reason to make a bold call and put a light up the experienced halfback pairing. I will play you in the big matches but fail me and I will put these two young players on.

The good thing for NZ is that they always get to see SA twice against Argentina and once against Australia before they play them. SA can indeed put the pressure on NZ with bonus points though Australia seem to be more of a threat at home this year than last year where Australian confidence was hit by their Lions defeat. They have two good wins against France and a 3-0 series whitewash and a Super 15 title. They may spring a surprise early against NZ or they might be gunning to get points on the table. Either way they're the crucial component this year in the RC.

SA might have the pressure off conversely from their comparative poor showing in the Super 15. I think that's probably a good thing. They'll be hurting and keen to make a good showing. I still see them as NZ's main threat but my only hope is that Meyer doesn't come out of his conservative shell after it's too late.

From what I see there are a few weak members of that squad, but I don't foresee them playing too much rugby.

A few weeks ago I thought SA were developing into a RWC challenger, and maybe even a favourite, but the games against Wales showed more of the struggles of SA than it did anything about Wales ability.

I don't think Wales were that great in test 2, but SA really struggles, and hid behind the drive, it's not often you see an SA team crawl out of trouble like that against inferior oppositio.

Plus side is they did crawl out of the hole, and with a few new members and playing style they will be better than last year.

Wasn't that one NZ game the free scoring free for all where SA just didn't have enough experience to attack AND subdue the kiwis? That was a superb game to watch.

You are right, SA need maximum points v Argentina, and probably Australia, I don't see either team doing SA any favours by beating NZ, not even Aus first up.

What's the injury list just out of interest BB? We have Carter, Woodcock and Romano, Vito with a question mark over Crockett as it stands. Other than Du Preez I don't see Engelbrecht (excuse the spelling) but I know there's a lot more.

Who was the young guy that played centre v Wales, was that Pollard?

Kia, Matfield out for first test, Fourie du Preez for the year, Piet Steph du Toit and Flip v d Merwe, Arno Botha and Jaque Fourie

Kia a few were dropped, Engelbrecht, COenie Oosthuizen, Kolisi, Goosen etc

Neutralee wrote:Who was the young guy that played centre v Wales, was that Pollard?

You're thinking of Jan Serfontein.

Looked good, young and a little green but huge potential. Just as the rest of the world start to look at SA backs like Steyn, JDV, Habana and Pieterson and think the replacements coming through aren't up to the same physicality they start producing the next wave of monsters...

I you liked Serfontein you are going to enjoy De Allende. There is another youngster Andre Esterhuize who is as brilliant.

Wow dropped! I assumed they were injured. Will always remember Kolisi's tackle on Nonu. Few new faces then I'm going to get a look at then.

Thanks for the info.

Biltong wrote:I you liked Serfontein you are going to enjoy De Allende. There is another youngster Andre Esterhuize who is as brilliant.

Just what the rugby world wanted to hear   

Hendricks is as cool as a cucumber which funnily enough is what I take with my Hendricks gin.

So what's the expected 23 from that squad?

1.Beast 2.B Du Plessis 3.J Du Plessis 4.Etzebeth 5.Matfield 6.Alberts 7.Louw 8.Vermuelen 9.Pienaar 10.Steyn 11.Habana 12.De Villiers 13.Serfontain 14.Hendricks 15.Le Roux

16.Malherbe 17.Strauss 18.Nyakane 19.de Jager 20.Coetzee 21.Hougaard 22.Lambie 23.De Allende

Matfield is injured, so De Jager will replace him, I also expect De Allende to replace Serfintein.

Etzebeth and de Jager together? That's pretty chunky!

Very much looking forward to this whole shindig kicking off. Early morning Tri-Nations games are some of my fondest rugby memories.

Yep, Etzebeth and De Jager will really improve our mobility in the pack.

Beast has been in very good form this season, Bismarck, Louw and Vermeulen to pilfer, Alberts to soften the opposition, Oupa to bring added pace in the last twenty alongside Marcell, and Strauss to add his ball carrying ability it will be a very good pack.

Problem is we can't expect much from our halfbacks.

A bit much for a kid who hasn't played a single game since November to fire straight back into Bok contention.
 
He may be an awesome player but thats asking a lot.

It isn't New Zealand, and he is playing this weekend for Province

even so BB, 10 months out the game. Not a single minute on the field.
 
Argentina may be a weak side compared but they are tough and even after all that it will be very difficult for him to gear himself up to standard for the NZ tests.... and AUS now have some very decent locks themselves.
 
But then again.... who else is there?

Biltong wrote:Yep, Etzebeth and De Jager will really improve our mobility in the pack.

Beast has been in very good form this season, Bismarck, Louw and Vermeulen to pilfer, Alberts to soften the opposition, Oupa to bring added pace in the last twenty alongside Marcell, and Strauss to add his ball carrying ability it will be a very good pack.

Problem is we can't expect much from our halfbacks.

I think that's harsh on Pienaar - he can be a very creative player from 9. Steyn isn't a particularly exciting player, but he does give you complete and utter accuracy in front of the posts.

fa0019 wrote:even so BB, 10 months out the game. Not a single minute on the field.
 
Argentina may be a weak side compared but they are tough and even after all that it will be very difficult for him to gear himself up to standard for the NZ tests.... and AUS now have some very decent locks themselves.
 
But then again.... who else is there?

I am comfortable with Eben, he doesn't seem to have bad games, besides he is going to be hungry as hell

funnyExiledScot wrote:

Biltong wrote:Yep, Etzebeth and De Jager will really improve our mobility in the pack.

Beast has been in very good form this season, Bismarck, Louw and Vermeulen to pilfer, Alberts to soften the opposition, Oupa to bring added pace in the last twenty alongside Marcell, and Strauss to add his ball carrying ability it will be a very good pack.

Problem is we can't expect much from our halfbacks.

I think that's harsh on Pienaar - he can be a very creative player from 9. Steyn isn't a particularly exciting player, but he does give you complete and utter accuracy in front of the posts.

Pienaar just doesn't seem to have confidence in himself when he plays for the Boks.

Biltong wrote:Pienaar just doesn't seem to have confidence in himself when he plays for the Boks.

I agree. He has as much talent as anybody, but the environment of South African rugby was never going to bring the best out of him. Being the son of a Springbok legend and having much expectation on his shoulders from a young age, combined with coaches and fans not having confidence in him- it's telling just how much happier and composed he is in Ulster when that pressure is lifted off his shoulders. I don't think its an accident that he's settled overseas and wants to play all his rugby overseas.

I also think he is over-criticised in South African rugby as they simply need a different kind of 9 to what he is, and is also singled out because he is based overseas.

Notch wrote:

Biltong wrote:Pienaar just doesn't seem to have confidence in himself when he plays for the Boks.

I agree. He has as much talent as anybody, but the environment of South African rugby was never going to bring the best out of him. Being the son of a Springbok legend and having much expectation on his shoulders from a young age, combined with coaches and fans not having confidence in him- it's telling just how much happier and composed he is in Ulster when that pressure is lifted off his shoulders. I don't think its an accident that he's settled overseas and wants to play all his rugby overseas.

I also think he is over-criticised in South African rugby as they simply need a different kind of 9 to what he is, and is also singled out because he is based overseas.

funny thing is, prior to him leaving SA supporters rallied behind him, he was quite the favourite amongst many fans.

Not sure why it has changed

Maybe because he left. And also because he was handled atrociously at the Sharks in terms of terms of finding his most natural position, so he hadn't had a fair go. Since he moved to Ulster I think almost all of his caps have come at 9. Northern Hemisphere rugby is slower as well, he plays a different game up here than is needed for the Boks.

Hi,Biltong can`t say know much about the Boks picked other than the veterans after the
hype.NO Burger or Smith.
NZ have troubles 3 Props doubtful plus back up Lock,Cane only just back dodgy Todd
deserved a crack.DC unlikely until last two tests but NZ have 3 good replacements now
at 10.Maybe both Brothers Grimm starting Ben was the standout Prop in S Rugby this year.
OZ have some front row problems too but there thinner in backups.
Lot of media rubbishing McCaw which is ridiculous he looks rearly sharp Nz could do worse
than the whole Crusaders back row with RM at 6.
Hopefully NZ will win all there first 3 games,establish a record and pressurise the others.

This side can win every match this year. Its scary what this side will have learned from last year.

They may have players that wont be there much longer after 2015 but I can't see them losing to anyone else, making the AB matches again the highlights of the year.

No way oz will beat them. just can't see it... too many guns.

I can see us losing to Aus this year in Aus.

I can see us losing to Aus this year in Aus.

I can see us losing to Aus tonight.