Eight debutants in Springbok squad

The eight players yet to earn a Springbok cap are Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Rudy Paige, Faf de Klerk, Jesse Kriel, Franco Mostert and Lionel Mapoe.

Six players also make their return to the side after a year's absence from the national team. That includes Elton Jantjies, Frans Steyn, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brüssow, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Heinke van der Merwe.

Meanwhile a list of 13 injured players who are being monitored, managed and helped back to full fitness includes Springbok captain Jean de Villiers, Mapoe, Brüssow, Du Toit, Steyn, Coenie Oosthuizen, Lood de Jager, Duane Vermeulen, Cobus Reinach, Pat Lambie, Jaque Fourie, Jan Serfontein and Fourie du Preez.

Du Preez apparently suffered a knee injury while training with his club in Japan during the week.

Meyer said those players are all in the mix for selection and the Springbok management would be working hard to get them back on the field.

“Some of them are close to full fitness and they will start training as soon as possible. We’ll assess and manage all the injured players individually with their return to play in mind and will do what is the best for the player and the team, even if it means that some of them play for their clubs or provinces if deemed necessary by our medical team and in consultation with their unions," Meyer said.

The inclusion of Fourie was a surprising one, as the veteran Bok centre announced his retirment from Test rugby last year. But Meyer welcomed the 32-year-old back after recent discussions.

“Even though Jaque Fourie announced that he had retired from Test rugby late last year, we have had positive talks with him and his club, Kobe in Japan, and an agreement was reached that he will be available for one last season of Test rugby. As soon as he’s back to full fitness, we’ll consider him for selection.

The inclusion of some overseas based players also excited the Bok coach.

“They are players with international experience and we know what they can do. It will be great to welcome them back into the Springbok fold and I know they will add value,” said the Springbok coach.

“It was great to see players such as Morné, Heinke, Bryan, Schalk Brits and Francois play in and win finals with their clubs in Europe.”

“We also talked to Andries Bekker as we wanted to consider him for selection, but upon a request from his club in Japan he was ultimately not picked for the squad at this stage. Hopefully he will be available at a later stage during the season.

As the World Cup looms, the Springbok coach said the friendly against a World XV, as well as the shortened Rugby Championship will serve as the final chance for players to make 31-man squad that will go to England in October.

“The next five matches, before we finalise the squad for the Rugby World Cup, will be very important as we want to ensure the right 31 players are on the plane to England on September 11.

“We have done a lot of planning and research and are well-prepared for the season. We’ll use the matches against the World XV, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to fine tune where necessary, but the next two months also provide the players with an opportunity to put themselves in contention to make the World Cup squad.”

The Springbok squad:

Willem Alberts (Cell C Sharks), Loose forward, 32 Test caps
Schalk Brits (Saracens, England), Hooker, 7
Schalk Burger (DHL Stormers / Suntory, Japan), Loose forward, 75
Marcell Coetzee (Cell C Sharks), Loose forward, 26
Damian De Allende (DHL Stormers), Centre, 3
Faf de Klerk (Emirates Lions / Steval Pumas), Scrumhalf, 0
Bismarck du Plessis (Cell C Sharks), Hooker, 70
Jannie du Plessis (Cell C Sharks), Prop, 62
Eben Etzebeth (DHL Stormers), Lock, 33
Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions), Flyhalf, 2
Bryan Habana (Toulon, France), Wing, 106
Cornal Hendricks (Toyota Cheetahs), Wing, 11
Zane Kirchner (Leinster, Ireland), Wing / Fullback, 29 Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers), Prop, 0
Vincent Koch (DHL Stormers / Steval Pumas), Prop, 0
Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers), Loose forward, 10
Jesse Kriel (Vodacom Bulls), Fullback, 0
Willie le Roux (Toyota Cheetahs), Fullback / Wing, 25
Francois Louw (Bath, England), Loose forward, 34
Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Prop, 4
Victor Matfield (Vodacom Bulls), Lock, 121
Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (Toyota Cheetahs), Loose forward, 7
Franco Mostert (Emirates Lions), Lock, 0
Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks), Prop, 64
Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks), Wing, 10
Scarra Ntubeni (DHL Stormers), Hooker, 0
Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), Prop, 13
Rudy Paige (Vodacom Bulls), Scrumhalf, 0
Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland), Scrumhalf, 80
JP Pietersen (Cell C Sharks), Centre / Wing, 59
Handré Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Flyhalf, 9
Morné Steyn (Stade Francais, France), Flyhalf, 59
Adriaan Strauss (Vodacom Bulls), Hooker, 44
Heinke van der Merwe (Stade Francais, France), Prop, 4
Marcel van der Merwe (Vodacom Bulls), Prop, 4
Warren Whiteley (Emirates Lions), Loose forward, 2

Injured / Conditioning squad:

Heinrich Brüssow (Toyota Cheetahs / Docomo, Japan), Loose forward, 20
Lood de Jager (Toyota Cheetahs), Lock, 9
Jean de Villiers (DHL Stormers), Centre, 106
Fourie du Preez (Suntory, Japan), Scrumhalf, 70
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Cell C Sharks), Lock, 2
Jaque Fourie (Kobe, Japan), Centre, 72
Patrick Lambie (Cell C Sharks), Flyhalf / Fullback, 40
Lionel Mapoe (Emirates Lions), Centre, 0
Coenie Oosthuizen (Toyota Cheetahs), Prop, 21
Cobus Reinach (Cell C Sharks), Scrumhalf, 6
Jan Serfontein (Vodacom Bulls), Centre, 20
Frans Steyn (Cell C Sharks), Centre, 53
Duane Vermeulen (DHL Stormers), No 8, 29

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

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