Cape Town – Since there are no further warm-up matches for the Springboks it will bring a calmness over the camp ahead of the 2015 World Cup squad announcement in 10 days’ time.
With every Springbok team announcement in recent weeks, coach Heyneke Meyer’s selections have come under intense scrutiny in the full glare of the media spotlight. Every announcement and the string of successive defeats raised a national outcry, sparking further furore in almost every sector of society.
The next few days could well be the calm before the storm, as the next announcement will be the World Cup squad.
The Boks return to their final pre-World Cup camp on Thursday in Durban and Meyer’s major concern will be the state of health of players returning from injury. By this time, he would have made his mind up about the players who are fit although the squad will be decided by Meyer and two fellow SARU-appointed selectors.
It is hardly likely though that the two co-selectors will want to differ too much with Meyer because it could prove a downer if the national coach has to work at the World Cup with players he does not fancy.
There is a good chance that Meyer will include players like scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, centre Jean de Villiers and eighthman Duane Vermeulen who will only recover from injuries just before the start or even during the World Cup.
Meyer is known to be unflinchingly loyal to certain players. Some may not be in top form and, therefore, don’t have strong selection claims, but he’ll point to their contribution to the Springbok cause in the past.
Meyer has also stamped his form of team culture on the core of the current group and he won’t be straying too far beyond that circle. In the past, he has been known to place a high premium on experience.
Against this background, it is unlikely that there’ll be many surprises when the squad is named on 28 August in Durban.
The World Cup takes place from September 18 to October 31 in England, with two-time champions South Africa drawn in Pool B, alongside Japan, Samoa, Scotland and the United States.
A team of African News Agency (ANA) sportswriters have each chosen a Springbok team, assuming the national side is called up to play in the next day or two. Injured players and those who have been out of action in recent weeks were not considered.
Herman Gibbs
15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Jessie Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtwarira
Michael Sherman
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Schalk Britz, 1 Tendai Mtwarira
Michael Mentz
15 Zayne Kirchner, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Jessie Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Alberts, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtwarira
Michael Tarr
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Jessie Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtwarira
African News Agency