Brüssow and Muller cleared for Castle Tri-Nations away leg
World Cup winner Johann Muller and star flanker Heinrich Brüssow were included in the Springbok squad on the away leg of the Castle Tri-Nations Series on Friday.
The pair have responded well to treatment and will be part of a 28-man party to take on Australia in Sydney on July 23 and New Zealand in Wellington a week later.
The squad includes World Cup-winning prop, CJ van der Linde, who was added as cover at the start of the week because of a number of injuries to leading front rankers. The 30-year-old DHL Western Province prop – who can play on either side of the scrum – has now been retained having trained well with the squad this week.
“Johann and Heinrich are very important to us this year and they’ll continue their rehabilitation on tour,” said Peter de Villiers, Springbok coach.
“This squad is a good blend of experienced players, with Rugby World Cup titles behind their name, and the form players from Vodacom Super Rugby, with some outstanding potential. We’ve had some good field session this week and I’m excited about this tour.
“We’ve chosen from our Rugby World Cup preliminary squad – so the players know they’re in the selectors’ thinking for the tournament. I’ve told them that this is their chance to prove that they’re ready to take their place in the final squad.”
Following the overseas leg of the Series, the Springboks host Australia in Durban on August 13 before concluding the shortened series against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth on August 20. The final Rugby World Cup squad will be named on August 23.
Castle Tri-Nations tour squad:
| Player | Province | Caps |
| Backs | ||
| Gio Aplon | DHL Western Province | 13 |
| Bjorn Basson | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 4 |
| Juan de Jongh | DHL Western Province | 6 |
| Adrian Jacobs | The Sharks | 32 |
| Elton Jantjies | MTN Lions | – |
| Patrick Lambie | The Sharks | 4 |
| Charl McLeod | The Sharks | – |
| Lwazi Mvovo | The Sharks | 2 |
| Odwa Ndungane | The Sharks | 7 |
| Wynand Olivier | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 32 |
| Ruan Pienaar | Ulster | 47 |
| Morne Steyn | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 25 |
| Forwards | ||
| Heinrich Brüssow | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | 13 |
| Jean Deysel | The Sharks | 1 |
| Dean Greyling | Vodacom Blue Bulls | – |
| Alistair Hargreaves | The Sharks | 2 |
| Ryan Kankowski | The Sharks | 17 |
| Werner Kruger | Vodacom Blue Bulls | – |
| Ashley Johnson | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | – |
| Johan Muller | Ulster | 23 |
| Coenie Oosthuizen | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | – |
| Chiliboy Ralepelle | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 18 |
| Danie Rossouw | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 54 |
| John Smit | The Sharks | 102 |
| Deon Stegmann | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 4 |
| Adriaan Strauss | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | 9 |
| CJ van der Linde | DHL Western Province | 69 |
| Flip van der Merwe | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 10 |
Related Posts
« 2011 Coca-Cola u18 Craven Week – Day Five Fixtures Boks plane returns as engine fails »
