Rugby World Cup Blog

What would a Springbok Squad selection be without a few surprises. PDV has once again caused a commotion with selecting Earl Rose who he has dubbed the Tiger Woods of Rugby. Which is rather surprising as Rose could barely make it in the Super 14 and spent most of the tournament on the bench for the Golden Lions. Another decision that confuses me is that there seems to be no specialist fullback. Frans Steyn who is in the squad could possibly be the starting no 15 for his massive punts and long distance drop goals, however he didn’t play fullback all season. JP Pietersen could also be used as a fullback but who wants to move a player that is playing so well from his position. With all the talent in South Africa why not take a specialist for the No 15 jersey such as Zane Kirchner or Stefan Terblanche?

Another major omission was Heinrich Brussow who was in outstanding form all Super 14. The squad feels a little short of flankers.

This seems to be a contradiction from PDV as he said he cannot select Luke Watson for the Squad because there was better no 8 players then him and he didn’t see him play on the flanks. However when it comes to fullback it seems totally ok to select someone who has not played there all season? Strange!

Morne Steyn makes his first appearance in a Springbok squad which was so well deserved.

South African selection time will always be different to the rest of the major Rugby nations due to the quota system that is in place. I am very happy that there is development in South Africa but do you start with the national team? There are many great players of color in South Africa and they deserve to be in the team but Earl Rose I can’t agree with.

Behold! The Tiger Woods of Rugby

Spring Bok Squad Lions Tour 09:
Forwards:
John Smit (c), Victor Matfield, Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Deon Carstens, Bismarck du Plessis, Ryan Kankowski, Tendai Mtawarira, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Danie Rossouw, Juan Smith, Pierre Spies, Gurthrö Steenkamp

Backs:
Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Adi Jacob, Ricky Januarie, Odwa Ndungane, Jongi Nokwe, Wynand Olivier, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Earl Rose, Frans Steyn, Morné Steyn