Ruan Botha cracks nod for Bok European tour

SOUTH Africa surprisingly called up Sharks lock Ruan Botha yesterday to replace injured flanker/number eight JeanLuc du Preez for a four-Test tour of Europe during November and December.

The selection caught pundits on the hop as coach Allister Coetzee was expected to fill the vacancy with another loose forward rather than a second-rower.

Coetzee justified his choice by saying he had sufficient loose-forward cover, despite there being only one specialist number eight among 19 forwards.

He is Daniel du Preez, the 22-year-old twin brother of JeanLuc and one of five uncapped players in the squad for Tests in Ireland, France, Italy and Wales.

“Ruan has played consistently well this year and has been part of our training camps,” said Coetzee.

“He led Sharks to the Currie Cup final and the Super Rugby playoffs and is not only a consistently good performer, but also a strong leader.”

However, Botha will be fifth in the queue for a lock berth behind skipper Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Du Toit can also be deployed as a flanker, a role where he initially struggled, but performed well in during a 25-24 home loss to world champions New Zealand this month.

South Africa play Ireland in Dublin on November 11, France in Paris on November 18, Italy in Padova on November 25 and Wales in Cardiff on December 2. — AFP