Springbok squad

[Luke7777]

He should have said.... "Looks like the Cheetas has the best latency as this Blue bulls have alot of Lag."

yeah, but the Cheetahs had an excellent highsite

 

[James]

Seriously, White has gone on record as saying he will NEVER pick Watson, so don't try and reason for him.

I may not agree with the entire selection commitee (Not just JW, he is not even executive selector) to not include Watson, but suggesting that JW has gone on record saying Watson will never be a Sprinbok is wrong. I believe the paraphrased quote was "there is no room for Watson in the team at the moment, the moment there is he will get his call up. He is just not the best flank in the country at the moment".

Floors has shone this season agreed, no disputing that and if he continues to play like he is I am sure he will get his dues.

 

[Fiekus]

but suggesting that JW has gone on record saying Watson will never be a Sprinbok is wrong. I believe the paraphrased quote was "there is no room for Watson in the team at the moment, the moment there is he will get his call up. He is just not the best flank in the country at the moment".

You can't just paraphrase like that James, please reveal your source(s).

Back to Jake and Luke. You can't tell me you are the only person in SA who doesn't know that Jake will NEVER pick Watson for personal reasons? There's speculation that it's because of his dad, but I won't paraphrase , I'll let you read the stories yourself:

Luke Watson is another example where the positive influence from a dad can become a drag. ............ That legacy is too much for some coaches to handle and sometimes Luke might take it too seriously. Which might be one of the reasons why Jake White has no interest in the young flanker at the moment.

See "Dad factor can make or break"
http://www.news24.com/News24/Columnists/JJ_Harmse/0,,2-1630-1631_1590069,00.html

Headline from IOL: "Jake: I will not pick Luke, Brits", see http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=vn20060510104311308C983861

Jake mentions:

the the number of quality young loose-forwards was over subscribed.

.
Ag please Jake!

Even iafrica ran a story that questions his omission: "What? No Watson?" http://sport.iafrica.com/news/288535.htm

You say Watson is not the best flank at the moment???? Do you HAVE to be the VERY BEST?? Surely you can be in the top 4 or so to get a look-in? That's why they take reserves hey? Is Johan Ackerman the BEST?? Is Hilton Lobberts the BEST? Is that why they were selected? Do you actually believe that James?
Iafrica summs it up for you:

White had no problem with any number of flankers in the country — ranging from the one-dimensional Jacques Cronje to the raw and largely untested Hilton Lobberts. Watson may not be number one in the queue, but surely he has to make the top five?

Lastly, even the World XV are chasing him:
http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/Rugby/0,6119,2-9-838_2010961,00.html

 

[kingrob]

Imagine Watson had the game of his life for the world XV - and makes our flankers look average.

That would be embarrassing.

 

[James]

You can't just paraphrase like that James, please reveal your source(s).

Well I was close enough and all key points are correct. Here is JW himself

15. International stars, including Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins, Phil Waugh and George Smit all regard the exclusion of Luke Watson from the Bok set-up as a mystery. Will you ever select him while you are the Bok coach?

You can never say never. The reality is I know what I have in the players currently in the squad. He has done really well for Province especially as a leader. I will always consider him but at this point in time there are other players that I rate higher than him. But that doesn't mean he will never be picked. He will just have to keep playing and maybe one day there will be an opportunity for him to play.

Source

 

[Fiekus]

Thanks very much for that. Interesting that Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins, Phil Waugh, George Smit all regard it as a "mystery" that Luke is not selected, and those are quality players!

 

[James]

Thanks very much for that. Interesting that Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins, Phil Waugh, George Smit all regard it as a "mystery" that Luke is not selected, and those are quality players!

Or on the other side of the coin they may want him selected so they have an weaker opponent, you never know

 

[Fiekus]

Or on the other side of the coin they may want him selected so they have an weaker opponent, you never know

LOL, now that I can believe

 

[alecgettley]

Discussing the new Squad

Found an interesting interview between two of the writers at SARugby.com about the squad. At first I thought the site was run by SA Rugby but it turns out it is an independant site with some great content.

Check the interview here:

http://www.sarugby.com/news/News/article/sid=5272.html

 

[stormer208]

I think a Springbok squad must consist out of players from the entire country,
which is not currently the case. At the moment we only have players from 4 teams The Blue Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs

 

[Fiekus]

I think a Springbok squad must consist out of players from the entire country,
which is not currently the case. At the moment we only have players from 4 teams The Blue Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs

At least Jean is there to wave the Province flag