Springbok World Cup squad named

Jean de Villiers Captain of South Africa leads his team on the field for the first time since he overcome his injury during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between Springboks v Argentina at Kingspark Stadium in Durban South Africa on August 08, 2015 ©Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

Jean de Villiers Captain of South Africa leads his team on the field for the first time since he overcome his injury during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between Springboks v Argentina at Kingspark Stadium in Durban South Africa on August 08, 2015 ©Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

Published Aug 28, 2015

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Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal - Midfielder Jean de Villiers will captain South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup starting mid-September in England.

Saru (South African Rugby Union) deputy president Mark Alexander announced the eagerly-anticipated 31-man Springbok squad at the team hotel in Umhlanga on Friday evening.

The class of 2015 have a hard act to follow considering previous Springbok squads under Francois Pienaar (1995) and John Smit (2007) have won world rugby's Holy Grail, the William Webb Ellis Trophy.

The global showpiece will be hosted by England from September 18 to October 31. England won the right to host in 2009 when they were declared winners over rival bids by Italy, Japan and South Africa.

South Africa have been drawn in Pool B along with Samoa, Scotland, Japan and the United States. Their first match will be on Saturday, September 19, against Japan at the Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton.

The Boks will play their fourth and final Pool match on Wednesday, October 7, against the United States at the Olympic Stadium, London.

New Zealand's All Blacks are the defending champions after their 2011 RWC final victory over France at Eden Park.

In the process, New Zeland became only the second host country to win the championship after South Africa's epic triumph at Ellis Park in 1995.

SA's 2015 RWC squad: Jean de Villiers (captain), Willem Alberts, Schalk Brits, Schalk Burger, Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Fourie du Preez, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Bryan Habana, Zane Kirchner, Siya Kolisi, Jesse Kriel, Pat Lambie, Willie le Roux, Francois Louw, Frans Malherbe, Victor Matfield (vice-captain), Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Rudy Paige, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Handre Pollard, Morne Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen.

African News Agency

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