15. Conrad JANTJES - Percy
13. Adrian JACOBS - Fancois Steyn
10. Butch JAMES - Ruan Pienaar
9. Bolla CONRADIE - WTF !!! Fourie du Preez
6. Luke WATSON - HUH ? There are millions of players beter than him. (Schalk Maybe ?)
5. Andries BEKKER - What the fk was de Villiers thinking Victor is available
3. Brian MUJATI - Is he even allowed to Play for the Springbokke (He's Zimbabwian)
15. Jantjes had a superb S14 campaign and it's about time he gets a chance. Also, you rather want to bring the newcomers into the squad now against Wales, instead of them playing for the first time in the tougher Tri-Nations series later on. It is in no way a reflection on Percy, who is clearly still the no.1 fullback in the country. What concerns me about the team though, is that we may come short in the goalkicking department. Percy's boot was key in the World Cup.
13. As much as I like Steyn, he is completely of form and was horrendous in the S14. More importantly, he played out of position, I believe his best position to be fullback. The Bok coach made it clear from the start he prefers to play players who are in form and also that he prefers to select players that are specialists in their positions. He doesn't care much for utility players. That said, obviously Steyn is a talent and bound to bounce back sooner rather than later, just a pity he lost his form, for the moment.
Needless to say, all of this would have been irrelevant if Jacque Fourie wasn't injured (another key player) because he is the best 13 in the country. So this is a lucky break for Adi Jacobs, let's hope he shows his appreciation.
10. Butch James is the incumbent Bok flyhalf so there was never any doubt over his selection for this position. He also had a great season at Bath. Ruan Pienaar had a bad S14 and has failed to hit the mark as a flyhalf anyway. Another player that is unfortunately played out of position and therefore turned into a reluctant utlity player.
9. Fourie du Preez is injured which paved the way for Ricky Januarie, who had a good S14 and was the runner-up for this position anyway. Januarie was expected to be selected but unfortunately he broke the team rules by (apparently) boozing it up on Wednesday night, 3 days before the big test. A big no-no. He was punished by not being selected for this test.
However, this is where i disagree with the team selection, I don't rate Bolla and he didn't get as much gametime in the S14 to warrant his place. Would have chosen Kocket of the Sharks instead.
6. Luke Watson - Schalk Burger is injured and according to rugby365 Watson has the best stats for this S14 as well. His lucky day since Burger is injured. Nice thing is that this year he kept his mouth shut, focussed on playing rugby instead of politics. Again, he was picked on form too.
Also, Wales' star flanker Martyn Williams is not playing due to injury, which sort of makes us breathe a bit easier since Burger is injured too.
5. Bekker - glad he got his callup, and it was expected. Matfield arrived very late in SA from France and it has to be said he played 2nd division rugby over there. I'm sure the coach is just working him back into the squad gradually, therefore putting him on the bench. He's still the best no.5 in SA and everyone knows it. However, again, we ONLY have Matfield/Bakkies and it's time to blood the youngsters. You rather want to do this against Wales instead of playing Bekker for the first time in the tougher Tri-Nations. You can't expect Matfied to play ever single test this year.
3. Mujati is a great tighthead and we don't have many in this country. He was picked on form and yes, he obviously qualifies to play for SA if he was selected.
Talking about loss of form, the best example is JP Pietersen who was marvellous last year but had a disastrous S14 and promptly lost his place in the Bok squad. The coach made it clear that Pietersen is talented but has a problem with his conditioning and is still in the reckoning for later on.
The only other problem I have with the team is Rossouw, he wasn't even a regular starter for the Bulls in the S14 and I would have chosen Kankowski instead, who is showing good form.
I think that is the problem. We're not pplaying Japan or Zimbabwe. We're Playing Wales people Wales.... With a team like that. Sorry but I predict an Epic Fail.
Wales are the 6Nations champions and I'm sure they're not taken lightly but the reality is that both Wales and SA are without key players due to injuries. This gives the opportunity for the guys knocking on the door to show their stuff and you want to do that against Wales, instead of against NZ and Aus later on. Even the Welsh coach admitted that this tour was a test of where they are in world rugby in terms of their depth, nothing more. They are playing a lot of newcomers as well on this tour.
I think it will be a good showdown on Saturday and if we're to play running rugby, which coach Pieter De Villiers is known for, expect the speedsters Habana and Chavhanga to see a lot of ball on the wing. Wales will test Jantjes with the high ball and if Jantjes passes that test, the Boks should be OK. The back three of Jantjies, Habana and Chavhanga is a new combination but an exciting one, considering that Chavhanga had a superb S14 and is even faster than Habana. But I just hope that Jantjes communicates well from the back because this is where Percy would have been good with his experience, to guide Chavhanga when necessary.
