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2019 Springbok Training Squad ahead of RC and RWC

TRF_heineken

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Nine overseas-based players will attend the camp and they include: flank Marcell Coetzee (Ulster, Ireland), utility forward Rynhardt Elstadt (Tououse, France), prop Vincent Koch (Saracens, England), lock Franco Mostert(Gloucester, England), scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, fullback Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz, Japan), scrumhalf Cobus Reinach (Northampton Saints), wing/fullback Cheslin Kolbe and centre Frans Steyn (Montpellier, France).

The following players will attend the Springbok alignment and conditioning camp from Sunday in Pretoria (in alphabetical order):

Forwards

Schalk Brits (Bulls), Marcell Coetzee (Ulster, Ireland), Lood de Jager (Bulls), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers), Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse, France), Eben Etzebeth (Stormers), Steven Kitshoff (Stormers), Vincent Koch (Saracens, England), Siya Kolisi (Stormers), Frans Malherbe (Stormers), Malcolm Marx (Lions), Bongi Mbonambi (Stormers), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Franco Mostert (Gloucester, England), Marvin Orie (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Lions)

Backs

Damian de Allende (Stormers), Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks, England), Aphiwe Dyantyi (Lions), Elton Jantjies (Lions), Herschel Jantjies (Stormers), Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse, France), Dillyn Lleyds (Stormers), Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz, Japan), Cobus Reinach (Northampton Saints, England), Frans Steyn (Montpellier, France)
 
Nice to see Coetzee recalled. Following his injury I think some people were worried he would be a busted signing but he was absolutely immense this year and was the man in what looked a fairly thin Ulster pack. He's far too good a player not to pick. SA capable of fielding an immense pack.
 
I assume any Lions/Stormers/foreign based players who are not in this squad will not be picked for the World Cup?

Surprised at no Serfontein.
 
I assume any Lions/Stormers/foreign based players who are not in this squad will not be picked for the World Cup?

Surprised at no Serfontein.

Not necessarily.

This is just the first training squad and a lot can still happen, such as injuries.

I am also surprized that Serfontein didn't make the cut (yet).
 
14 more players have been added to the squad:

Forwards:

Dan du Preez (Sharks), Thomas du Toit (Sharks), Lizo Gqoboka (Bulls), Francois Louw (Bath), Trevor Nyakane (Bulls), RG Snyman (Bulls), Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)

Backs:

Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), Warrick Gelant (Bulls), Jesse Kriel (Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks), Sibusiso Nkosi (Sharks), Handre Pollard (Bulls),

Ruan Botha (Sharks, foot surgery), Dan du Preez (Sharks, rib fracture), Warren Whiteley (Lions, knee surgery), Damian Willemse (Stormers, knee surgery) and Jan Serfontein (ankle surgery) were not considered for the training camp due to injury.
 
2 dangerous scrum half right there in Faf De Klerk and Cobus Reinach. Faf a great running 9 can draw players and smash nathan hughes backwards. Reinach has been great all season for saints. Runs great support lines, times runs for intercepts perfectly and is Rapid.

id start Faf and bring on Reinach as he will make an impact.
 
14 more players have been added to the squad:

Forwards:

Dan du Preez (Sharks), Thomas du Toit (Sharks), Lizo Gqoboka (Bulls), Francois Louw (Bath), Trevor Nyakane (Bulls), RG Snyman (Bulls), Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)

Backs:

Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), Warrick Gelant (Bulls), Jesse Kriel (Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks), Sibusiso Nkosi (Sharks), Handre Pollard (Bulls),

Ruan Botha (Sharks, foot surgery), Dan du Preez (Sharks, rib fracture), Warren Whiteley (Lions, knee surgery), Damian Willemse (Stormers, knee surgery) and Jan Serfontein (ankle surgery) were not considered for the training camp due to injury.


Wait... first paragraph it says Dan du Preez is in the squad
Then third paragraph it says he was not considered due to injury.

Did they mean Jean luc du Preez?
 
2 dangerous scrum half right there in Faf De Klerk and Cobus Reinach. Faf a great running 9 can draw players and smash nathan hughes backwards. Reinach has been great all season for saints. Runs great support lines, times runs for intercepts perfectly and is Rapid.

id start Faf and bring on Reinach as he will make an impact.
My two World Cup scrummies, been rooting for Reincach since his early Sharks days. Rival South African franchise fans never seemed to appreciate him or understand his skills. They could not understand how a scrummie could do something more than just kick the ball. Then Faf emerged, people started hating him, got blamed for the Alastair Coetzee era. Then Rassie came, we won again and they said wow Faf is not so bad. I thought "you idiots, this was the same guy all along" now they start to see Reinach too. He did not become good this year, he has always been this good. Go check out how some of us moaned about his 2015 World Cup exclusion on this forum so that Rudy Paige could have a place in England
 
Wait... first paragraph it says Dan du Preez is in the squad
Then third paragraph it says he was not considered due to injury.

Did they mean Jean luc du Preez?

I think so yeah.

My two World Cup scrummies, been rooting for Reincach since his early Sharks days. Rival South African franchise fans never seemed to appreciate him or understand his skills. They could not understand how a scrummie could do something more than just kick the ball. Then Faf emerged, people started hating him, got blamed for the Alastair Coetzee era. Then Rassie came, we won again and they said wow Faf is not so bad. I thought "you idiots, this was the same guy all along" now they start to see Reinach too. He did not become good this year, he has always been this good. Go check out how some of us moaned about his 2015 World Cup exclusion on this forum so that Rudy Paige could have a place in England

The only thing that would've made my day even more than to see Reinach back in the mix, would have been if Francois Hougaard was the 3rd scrumhalf selected. Faf, Cobus and Hougie are my 3 favourite scrummies for SA now, and all of them have matured into real powerful, skillful assets. I have always been a fan of Cobus. I just think he wasn't utilised properly, just like Faf wasn't under AC. If you have the right coach and the right gameplan, any quality player would excel.
 
Okay, so Rassie has named a 36-man squad to a training camp this week in Bloemfontein:

The 36-man Springbok squad who have assembled for the RWC camp in Bloemfontein are:

Forwards (21)

Schalk Brits (Bulls), Lood de Jager (Bulls), Thomas du Toit (Sharks), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers), Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse, France), Eben Etzebeth (Stormers), Lizo Gqoboka (Bulls), Steven Kitshoff (Stormers), Vincent Koch (Saracens, England), Siya Kolisi (Stormers), Francois Louw (Bath, England), Frans Malherbe (Stormers), Malcolm Marx (Lions), Bongi Mbonambi (Stormers), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Franco Mostert (Gloucester, England), Trevor Nyakane (Bulls), Marvin Orie (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Lions), RG Snyman (Bulls), Duane Vermeulen (Bulls)

Backs (15)

Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Damian de Allende (Stormers), Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks, England), André Esterhuizen (Sharks), Warrick Gelant (Bulls), Elton Jantjies (Lions), Herschel Jantjies (Stormers), Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse, France), Jesse Kriel (Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks), Sbu Nkosi (Sharks), Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz, Japan), Handré Pollard (Bulls), Cobus Reinach (Northampton Saints, England), Frans Steyn (Montpellier, France)

Rassie will name his final 31-man squad next week Monday for the RWC, and all indications are there that 5 guys in this group will be culled and left on standby. So based on what i've seen so far my guess is the following 5 will miss out:

Thomas Du Toit
Marvin Orie
Lizo Gqoboka
Rynhardt Elstadt
Warrick Gelant

That would leave us with:

Loosehead Props: Beast, Steven Kitshoff, (Trevor Nyakane)
Hookers: Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Schalk Brits
Tighthead Props: Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Trevor Nyakane
Locks: Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, RG Snyman, Lood De Jager, (Pieter-Steph Du Toit)
Flankers: Siya Kolisi, Francois Louw, Kwagga Smith, Francois Louw
No. 8: Duane Vermeulen, (Kwagga Smith), (Francois Louw)

Scrumhalves: Faf De Klerk, Herschell Jantjies, Cobus Reinach
Fly Halves: Handre Pollard, Elton Jantjies, (Frans Steyn)
Centres: Damian De Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Frans Steyn
Wings: Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi, (Jesse Kriel), (Willie Le Roux)
Fullbacks: Willie Le Roux, (Cheslin Kolbe), (Frans Steyn)

The guys in brackets are who can play different positions as cover.

Now I might be wrong with my guesses, but I have a suspicion that this would be the squad.

Marcell Coetzee might still feature, but didn't go to the camp due to the injury he sustained in Saturday's game.

Guys missing out due to injury are Aphiwe Dyanthi and Warren Whiteley. All reports indicate that they won't be in the World Cup squad or the Standby group.
 
I would leave damien and andre

I would have played Rohan JVR , Jaco Kriel and Serfontein in this years CT
 
I'd have Marcell Coetzee in ahead of Kwagga Smith if the knock to the head hasn't ruled him out. So I suppose we can now rule out Serfontein. Him and Dyantyi are the the guys I'd have loved to see get in last minute.

The 5 I see being culled from that 36 man squad: Thomas du Toit / Lizo Gqoboka / Marvin Orie / Andre Esterhuizen and then depending on the forwards/backs split either of Elstadt or Mapimpi. That is unless Rassie sees Frans Steyn more as covering for 15 than 12 but I would prefer including Gelant over Mapimpi personally as I don't want to see us forced into moving Kriel, Kolbe or Steyn to 15 due to lack of specialist cover. I'm not going to cry foul however if that ends up being the case the margins are so small and I am sure Rassie and co have had much greater consideration of all the ins and outs than myself LOL.
 
I'd have Marcell Coetzee in ahead of Kwagga Smith if the knock to the head hasn't ruled him out. So I suppose we can now rule out Serfontein. Him and Dyantyi are the the guys I'd have loved to see get in last minute.

The 5 I see being culled from that 36 man squad: Thomas du Toit / Lizo Gqoboka / Marvin Orie / Andre Esterhuizen and then depending on the forwards/backs split either of Elstadt or Mapimpi. That is unless Rassie sees Frans Steyn more as covering for 15 than 12 but I would prefer including Gelant over Mapimpi personally as I don't want to see us forced into moving Kriel, Kolbe or Steyn to 15 due to lack of specialist cover. I'm not going to cry foul however if that ends up being the case the margins are so small and I am sure Rassie and co have had much greater consideration of all the ins and outs than myself LOL.

I'd personally have Coetzee and Kwagga there, ahead of Kolisi...

Frans Steyn is the perfect utility player for us to have, and I have a suspicion he'll be our resident player 23 with every game. And fill in when needed. So it's kinda a coin toss as to which of the backs will stay behind. But Rassie said after Saturday's game that Nkosi will be in his 31-man squad, and I can't see him dropping Kolbe either. But they are both right wingers, and with Dyanthi out, Mapimpi is the only out and out left wing in the team. So that's why I'm thinking that Mapimpi will go.
 
I am leaning towards the Boks to win their third RWC.
 
Im so glad that my fellow South Africans has finally realised the value of Frans Steyn in our squad, for whatever purpose you want out of him. Impact sub, experienced starter, previous WC winner, backup kicker, long-distance kicker, utility sub....

I would really love it if Coetzee could make the squad instead of Kwagga. Lets forget about Kolisi his going to the WC no matter the form he is in. He could have missed every tackle against Arg and he still would have gone to the WC, but he played well actually, better than Kwagga in the last game so I would take him even if it was just based on form. And yea im aware that he has played less than Kwagga but then how did a guy with so much less playing time seem better than Kwagga who has had lots of playing time.

So I thought Coetzee had to have a near man of the match performance to make the squad, then he went off injured in the 16th minute. So I posted during the game that he is out of the world cup. Was a very sad moment.
But Rassie has somewhat given renewed hope that might be included by specifically mentioning that he is still in the running despite
not travelling to Bloemfontein. Add to that the fact that Coetzee can cover flank and Number 8 while Kwagga can only cover flank. Who else covers Duane if he goes off? This is why im thinking that Coetzee might still go to the world cup with Kwagga and Elstad missing out. Maybe Coetzee has been given a lifeline by injuries to Whiteley and the Du Preez twins.

I am super happy with our three scrum-halves and for the first time in two years im not fearing a potential injury to Faf even though I still consider him the undisputed no1 Scrummie in South Africa.

Edit: Louw can cover 8 but would still prefer Coetzee. There is no chance for Kwagga to cover 8
 
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Im so glad that my fellow South Africans has finally realised the value of Frans Steyn in our squad, for whatever purpose you want out of him. Impact sub, experienced starter, previous WC winner, backup kicker, long-distance kicker, utility sub....

I would really love it if Coetzee could make the squad instead of Kwagga. Lets forget about Kolisi his going to the WC no matter the form he is in. He could have missed every tackle against Arg and he still would have gone to the WC, but he played well actually, better than Kwagga in the last game so I would take him even if it was just based on form. And yea im aware that he has played less than Kwagga but then how did a guy with so much less playing time seem better than Kwagga who has had lots of playing time.

So I thought Coetzee had to have a near man of the match performance to make the squad, then he went off injured in the 16th minute. So I posted during the game that he is out of the world cup. Was a very sad moment.
But Rassie has somewhat given renewed hope that might be included by specifically mentioning that he is still in the running despite
not travelling to Bloemfontein. Add to that the fact that Coetzee can cover flank and Number 8 while Kwagga can only cover flank. Who else covers Duane if he goes off? This is why im thinking that Coetzee might still go to the world cup with Kwagga and Elstad missing out. Maybe Coetzee has been given a lifeline by injuries to Whiteley and the Du Preez twins.

I am super happy with our three scrum-halves and for the first time in two years im not fearing a potential injury to Faf even though I still consider him the undisputed no1 Scrummie in South Africa.

Edit: Louw can cover 8 but would still prefer Coetzee. There is no chance for Kwagga to cover 8

I just keep thinking what John Smit said in the studio after the game. "You don't always send your strongest team out first". He mentioned that sometimes coaches leaves a few guys behind, because they know an injury or 2 or 3 might happen in the minnow games, and then you can call up someone from the back-up list, who was actually a first choice pick to begin with...
 
Coetzee is out and Orie, Du Toit, Esterhuizen and Gqoboka have been released to their Currie Cup teams.

36 down now to 32. I believe it's now Elstadt and Kwagga fighting for the final spot.
 

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