SA squad on the right track

I still feel that South Africa has a shot at winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The Boks performed brilliantly against Scotland on Saturday where they claimed a critical 34-16 victory at St. James’ Park.

JP Pietersen scored his fourth try of the tournament, while Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana chipped in with a try apiece.

Handre Pollard also answered his kicking-critics (and I was one of them) by scoring 19 points with the boot.

I think one area where Heyneke Meyer is shooting himself – and the team – in the foot is by once again showing his refusal to rotate his squad.

Meyer has only made two changes, with Frans Malherbe and Lwazi Mvovo coming in for Jannie Du Plessis and JP Pietersen respectively.

Both changes were injuryforced. While I understand the game against the USA was a must-win, we surely have the depth to rotate the squad and rest players who are overplayed and carrying niggles such as Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Damian De Allende.

In November last year, Meyer did the same thing in the end of year tests by playing a full-strength side against Italy in what was essentially a friendly, where Jean De Villiers was played and then injured for over a year in the following test.

While we do have the squad to win this world cup, it is not being rotated enough. I think this is due to Meyer seemingly caring more about keeping his job than to the success of the team.