Johannesburg - Could Heyneke Meyer spring a major surprise at midday on Wednesday by naming both Johan Goosen and Elton Jantjies in his match-22 for the Rugby Championship Test against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday?
It certainly appeared that Goosen and Jantjies were ahead of Morné Steyn in the queue for the flyhalf jersey when the Springboks trained at Fourways High School on Tuesday afternoon.
For the brief period the media were allowed at the session, first Goosen and then Jantjies trained in what appeared to be the first-choice team, with Steyn among the group that are unlikely to be part of the match-22.
It would be a major surprise were Meyer to leave Steyn out of his squad, especially as Goosen has featured for just two brief periods off the bench in Australasia and Jantjies has yet to play a Test match. The Bok boss, though, is under plenty of pressure to win, with several former Bok stars and provincial coaches punting for a change at No 10.
Besides a possible change at flyhalf, Meyer looks set to restore the Western Province duo of Andries Bekker and Eben Etzebeth in the second row, while Francois Louw, picked especially to counter the threat of Richie McCaw in Dunedin 10 days ago, will probably keep his place in the team.
“Team selection is not my decision, but Francois was very good against New Zealand,” said Bok forwards coach Johan van Graan on Tuesday. “He was especially good on the ground (against McCaw), and now we’re coming up against Michael Hooper, who’s also very good. I’m sure whoever gets selected will do the job.”
The only other likely change to the side that lost in New Zealand will come in midfield should Frans Steyn not recover from a left ankle injury. In that case, Jean de Villiers will move to inside centre, with Jaco Taute set to debut at 13.
“The X-rays (done on Steyn) were clear and the swelling has settled nicely… we’re hoping to get him to do some training on Wednesday,” said Bok team doctor Craig Roberts.
Three more players did not train with the squad on Tuesday, and will be managed accordingly – Flip van der Merwe (lock, calf), Jacques Potgieter (flank, groin) and Lwazi Mvovo (wing, hamstring).
Van Graan, meanwhile, stated the Boks were on the right track with their current gameplan, but he insisted they needed to make better decisions on the field. “We’ve grown as a team since our first Test together (against England) in Durban… our ball retention is better and we’re contesting better on the ground,” he said on Tuesday.
“It takes special moments by special players to win games, though, as we got from Bryan (Habana) in Dunedin. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t get all the points on offer. The key is converting the opportunities you create into points, so ultimately, it comes down to decision-making.”
In arguably their best performance under Meyer, the Boks dominated most areas against New Zealand in Dunedin, with the pack especially powerful, but a lack of penetration by the backs and poor goal-kicking cost the Boks victory.
“We got some good momentum going in the first channel, our second runners got us over the advantage line… it was just a case of us not making the right decisions. We’ve, however, worked hard with the outside backs on their decision-making, and hopefully it will be better this weekend,” said Van Graan.
Meyer will name his team on Wednesday for Saturday’s Test.
The Star