A new era in Springbok rugby
in Cape Town THE Springboks will go into the June Test series against Ireland with a callow set of halfbacks, including uncapped flyhalf Garth April and scrumhalves Faf de Klerk and Nic Groom included in a 31-man squad.
Coach Allister Coetzee made several surprise selections when naming his first squad, but none as risky as banking on inexperienced halfbacks.
Pat Lambie and Elton Jantjies are also in the mix, along with Rudy Paige, but, besides Lambie’s 50 Test caps, the other five halfbacks have four Test caps between them — Jantjies and Paige have two each.
Jantjies is nursing a broken finger, but, according to the coach, he will be available for the first Test on June 11.
Although April is third-choice, he is in line for one of the most remarkable Test call-ups in the professional era. Eighteen months ago, the 24-year-old Sharks No 10 was an amateur leading Cape Town club side Durbell to the national club championship title, and today he is a Springbok.
In some ways Coetzee had nowhere to turn with his halfbacks. Fourie du Preez and Ruan Pienaar have retired from international rugby, Handré Pollard is injured and Morné Steyn is past his best.
April’s authoritative performances for the Sharks in Lambie’s injuryenforced absence in the Super Rugby have caught the eye, but, even so, his rise is meteoric by any standards.
“The inexperience of the halfbacks is more exciting than a concern to me,” Coetzee said. “They have to start somehow. In 2004 when I was Bok assistant coach we had lots of inexperienced players but our job was to give them the experience they needed by the 2007 World Cup.
“I’ve no doubt that these guys will hold their own, and a guy like Elton has been playing with composure and authority. Garth showed tremendous composure when he was thrown in the deep end against [French side] Toulon earlier in the year and he has continued to do that in Super Rugby. Garth April, Ruan Combrinck, Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager, Faf de Klerk, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Nic Groom, Elton Jantjies, Steven Kitshoff, Siya Kolisi, Jaco Kriel, Jesse Kriel, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Francois Louw, Frans Malherbe, Lionel Mapoe, Bongi Mbonambi, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Scarra Ntubeni, Trevor Nyakane, Rudy Paige, JP Pietersen, Julian Redelinghuys, Jan Serfontein, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen, Warren Whiteley. Lukhanyo Am, Francois Brummer, Nizaam Carr, Jean-Luc du Preez, Thomas du Toit, Lizo
“He is a player who can take the ball to the line, has a good kicking game, and what I like is the composure he has shown in high-pressure games. Gqoboka, Travis Ismaiel, Ntando Kebe, Vincent Koch, Edgar Marutlulle, Malcolm Marx, Howard Mnisi, Teboho Mohoje, Franco Mostert, Coenie Oosthuizen, Sergeal Pietersen, JD Schickerling, Courtnall Skosan, RG Snyman, Marcel van der Merwe, Piet van Zyl, Francois Venter, Leolin Zas.
“We shouldn’t be afraid to expose young flyhalves to Test rugby this early. New Zealand brought Lima Sopoaga to play against the Boks at Ellis Park last year and they won the ASTUTE: Springbok coach Allister Coetzee Test. They were praised. April has the ability to do the same, and I was never going to select an overseasbased flyhalf to be our third choice.”
Coetzee also confirmed a new captain would only be named next week.
He said: “I have three or four players in the leadership group and the captain will come from that core, but he will only be appointed for the Ireland series.”
Coetzee threw in several more surprises in his squad to face Ireland over three Tests next month, including Stormers loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe. In all, there are nine uncapped players in the squad.
Lions wing Ruan Combrinck, De Klerk, April, Notshe, Groom, Frenchbased prop Steven Kitshoff, Lions flank Jaco Kriel, and Stormers hookers Scarra Ntubeni and Bongi Mbonambi are the uncapped players.
Lions prop Julian Redelinghuys, who played Two tests for the Boks in 2014, is also in from the cold, but there is no place for prop Coenie Oosthuizen. The latter is in the 23-man SA “A” side to play the England Saxons, which was also announced last night.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann will coach the “A” side in two matches against England’s second team in Bloemfontein and George.
It is clearly a new era in Springbok rugby, as long-term stalwarts have been cut. Players such as Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis, Willem Alberts and Morné Steyn are unlikely to feature for the Boks again despite not formally retiring from Test rugby.
Scrumhalf Pienaar called Coetzee recently to say he wasn’t available while flank Schalk Burger is still part of the Boks’ medium-term plans. Pollard was one of several players not considered due to injury.
But the new-look Springboks also have a string core, with 18 survivors from last year’s Rugby World Cup squad in the group.
Experienced campaigners such as JP Pietersen, Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth, Adriaan Strauss and Willie le Roux will form the spine of the team.
Francois Hougaard, Bryan Habana, Juan de Jongh, Seabelo Senatla and Cheslin Kolbe were not considered, as they are part of the Springboks Sevens training squad for the Rio Olympic Games in August.