Bok door is not closed
SPRINGBOK coach Allister Coetzee says the door is not closed for those “unlucky” players who didn’t make his Rugby Championship squad.
Coetzee named his 34-man Springbok squad after the Super Rugby final on Saturday night, and one obvious omission was Lions wing Ruan Combrinck.
Combrinck has been prominent for the Lions, and he was also instrumental in their quarter-final win over the Sharks that secured the win for departing coach Johan Ackermann’s team with a last-gasp monster penalty kick to snatch the win.
Coetzee acknowledged that Combrink, and even Lions centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who has enjoyed less game time this season than Combrinck due to injury, have put up impressive performances, but added that the players he selected for the Rugby Championship did enough to prove that they belong in the Bok squad that will kick off their campaign on August 19 against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
“It’s always difficult to fit 40 players into 33, and next week it will be difficult to turn 33 into 23, so there will always be unlucky players,” Coetzee said. “Ruan Combrinck did play well, and Rohan Janse van Rensburg – although he hasn’t started a full game yet – also did well when he came on. It’s good to see that they’re performing well, because that shows they want to be in the Springbok camp.
“But we started a new season this year and the players were told that when they perform in this Springbok group, they must be difficult to replace. And those players did perform.
“When they went back to their franchises I saw that what was started against the French continued at their unions, so how do I justify leaving those players out? How do I do that? I have to stick with my continuity and my consistency.
“This squad is not cast in stone. Players who are unlucky at the moment could get an opportunity. It’s 10 weeks of Rugby Championship and anything could happen. They must just stay positive.”
One player who showed his desire to play his best rugby is young Sharks talent Curwin Bosch, and Coetzee said that they might need Bosch’s big boot in an important match during their Rugby Championship campaign.
“Curwin has really done well. It’s great to have him. He’s a talented guy, whether he’s ready now or not, he’s very talented and I think he will definitely play for South Africa in future,” Coetzee said.
“So why not give him an opportunity? His out-of-hand kicking is unbelievable and he can kick to the posts as well. So you never know – you might need Curwn in an important match to do that.”
With Warren Whiteley on the casualty list, the Bok captaincy is vacant, and when asked if he had decided on a skipper for the Rugby Championship yet, Coetzee said that he would make a decision later this week.
He could, however, confirm that there were a number of “leaders” in the current squad that he was looking at, and added that his captain will have a lot of support around him.
“We are working on a basis of a leadership group. Siya Kolisi, Elton Jantjies and Beast (Tendai) Mtawarira are there with Eben (Etzebeth), and with Warren out, we’re going to look at getting another guy in there because there are a lot of leaders in this group,” Coetzee said.
“Jaco Kriel, Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff also have good leadership qualities, and all these players need to understand that they need to chip in now.
“Eben has done a fantastic job on short notice in that third Test. But I will make a decision later this week.”