The door to Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s Rugby World Cup squad remains open for a handful of players plying their trade abroad and in the Currie Cup.
Meyer gave a glimmer of hope to players who have missed out on his inflated squad for the match against the World XV and the Castle Lager Rugby Championship by saying that he will keep his options open ahead of his August 28 World Cup squad announcement.
This opens the door for the likes of the Lions’ Jaco Kriel, Bulls flank Arno Botha, Western Province flank Nizaam Carr and Japan-based Andries Bekker to stake a claim in the coach’s squad in their endeavour to wrestle the world crown back from the All Blacks.
As much as Meyer may have joked about his dilemma of not being able to please everyone with his squad selections, he openly hinted that there were still spots available in his squad that will travel to England for rugby’s global showpiece in September.
“It doesn’t matter what the Springbok coach does, you are always going to be in trouble. I thought I’m going to get a medal for picking Heinrich Brüssow and then everybody is cross with me for not picking a Jaco Kriel.
“Then I thought everybody is going to be happy with me for not picking Pierre Spies,although I still believe in Pierre, and suddenly I get messages why I don’t put Pierre in. A guy like Arno (Botha) I believe is a world beater and he played ahead of Marcel (Coetzee) and Siya (Kolisi) before he got injured and I believe he can go to the World Cup. If I go to Western Province they throw me out the airport and say why don’t you pick Nizaam Carr. The one thing I realised is that you will always be in trouble and it is good to see the passion,” Meyer chuckled.
Meyer has been open about his need for locks and centres but was also open about the fact that he has been in contact with players that are not in his current squad and will be monitoring them throughout the Currie Cup and may even call on them during the Rugby Championship.
For the sake of accommodating the unions and their contracts with players, Meyer said he chose not to have a bigger squad and instead allowed the players to continue playing domestic rugby but that he will be keeping his selection options open until the very end.
“I’ve had one-on-ones with some of the guys who are not in the squad and the final squad will only be picked the week before the World Cup. Every single guy out there can still make it. There’s definitely some unlucky guys and I feel for them because it is not easy picking a squad. I felt that a lot of the guys must play Currie Cup. If I had an opportunity to pick a bigger squad I would have gotten some of those guys in.
“I would love a bigger squad then those guys can train with us but those guys have agreements where they must play Currie Cup and it is better that they do so, but I will pull one or two of them into the squad later in the Rugby Championship.
“I am going to be open, speak to the guys and watch Currie Cup until the last day when the squad is announced.” - The Star