The Springbok team to face the Wallabies in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Shield decider in Bloemfontein shows two changes to the one that beat Australia in Pretoria last weekend.
SA Rugby
Van der Merwe and prop Jannie du Plessis were both cleared to play after undergoing medical assessments on Monday. James, meanwhile, was ruled out through a shoulder injury.
Asked why he had preferred Rossouw to van der Merwe in the Bok engine room, coach Peter de Villiers said: “We feel that Danie will be better suited the to the type of game we would like to play as well as to what we expect the Wallabies may bring to the game on Saturday”.
De Villiers said that his players were determined to do well in Bloemfontein, which has so far been a happy hunting ground for the Boks during his tenure. “There is still the Mandela Cup to play for and whilst we do not play only to win trophies we do see them as just reward for hard work, so hopefully our hard work will pay off and we can celebrate a win at the weekend”.
Vice-captain Victor Matfield said he had been pleased with the improvements in the forward play in last week’s 44-31 win over Australia in Pretoria.
“The lineouts were better but I was really impressed by how well we did at the breakdown,” Matfield said. “I was also very happy with the scrums which were a good launching platform for us. We will continue to see where we can improve this week”.
The Boks were put through their paces in extremely warm conditions at Shimla Park on Tuesday morning. The session included a run against a Free State Under-21 group in which they focused on structured play. Then forwards also put in a good scrumming session.
The Springbok team:
15 Francois Steyn (Racing Metro) – 38 caps
14 JP Pietersen (Sharks) – 35 caps
13 Jaque Fourie (Vodacom Stormers) – 61 caps
12 Jean de Villiers (Vodacom Western Province) – 62 caps
11 Bryan Habana (Vodacom Stormers) – 65 caps
10 Morne Steyn (Vodacom Bulls) – 20 caps
9 Francois Hougaard (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps
8 Pierre Spies (Vodacom Bulls) – 36 caps
7 Juan Smith (Vodacom Cheetahs) – 64 caps
6 Schalk Burger (Vodacom Stormers) – 62 caps
5 Victor Matfield (Vodacom Bulls) – 100 caps
4 Danie Rossouw (Vodacom Bulls) – 53 caps
3 Jannie du Plessis (Sharks) – 19 caps
2 John Smit (Sharks, capt) – 101 caps
1 Gurthro Steenkamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 30 caps
Reserves:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps
17 CJ van der Linde (Vodacom Cheetahs) – 64 caps
18 Flip van der Merwe (Vodacom Bulls) – 5 caps
19 Ryan Kankowski (Sharks) – 15 caps
20 Ricky Januarie (Vodacom Stormers) – 47 caps
21 Juan de Jongh (Vodacom Stormers) – 6 caps
22 Gio Aplon (Vodacom Stormers) – 8 caps
August 31st, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Lost opportunity Divvy!!!
August 31st, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Reply to Minora @ 12:51 pm:
Naah, he mos reckons the okes
in Bloem wants to see their
heroes in action.
So Tina also covers 10, Aplon
wing and 15.
August 31st, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Reply to Boertjie @ 12:58 pm:
If that is the case, then I would expect nothing less than a 20+ points drumming of the OzMob by the Boks seeing that PDivvy had considered all his options and taken into account the lessons learned throughout the 3N.
Ek wag in spanning. . . . . .
August 31st, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Reply to Minora @ 12:51 pm:
I think the EOYT will be used for opportunities
August 31st, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Reply to Ollie @ 1:31 pm: LOL, on the one side the Clown moans about he wants to rest his players and they have played too many hours and then he play them all again.
Come EOYT he will have another story to spin…..and the circus moves on!!!!
August 31st, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Reply to Jacques(Bunny) @ 2:12 pm:
Well the murmurs from the Bok camp for a while have indicated that some players will be rested during the EOYT. We’ll have to wait and see though. Personally I won’t be too happy if Smit and Matfield etc. end up playing a few games.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:48 pm
This side should klap the aussies.
Would of like a more stealthy enforcer
at lock,
blatant PK’s will only worsen the scrutiny at the WC.
We need an answer at depth for Bakkies.
Matfield is a brilliant linesman
but easily bullied.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:52 pm
We really miss Ruan on the bench – I know he’s injured, but we should have stuck with him at 10, he’s a lot more dangerous with ball in hand than Morne
http://fromthebottomoftheruck.blogspot.com/
August 31st, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I hope the EOYT gets used for new caps,
the WC is almost here.
We need answers.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Winning away becomes a necessity.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Reply to Duiwel @ 2:53 pm:
Butch is the answer
August 31st, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Reply to JT @ 2:57 pm:
Maybe not quite the “100 kg of
shit” some people think, but
seems to hurt easily nonetheless.
August 31st, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Flip is becoming the enforcer.
Give him time.
August 31st, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Reply to Boertjie @ 4:29 pm:
Nope
that is now Jean De Villiers tackling his own team mate…
Maybe he had a word with a Pakistani guy before the game…