Squad named for national team planning session
The South African Rugby Union on Wednesday named 51 players who have been called to a national team planning session at the start of next month.
The players will attend two days of meetings and logistical discussions in the first of three national camps in preparation for the international season.
“SARU’s priority is first and foremost with Springbok preparations in this Rugby World Cup year and with the support of the provinces our national teams department has been able to plan three squad get-togethers during Vodacom Super Rugby,” explained Jurie Roux, SARU CEO.
“There are many demands on the Springboks as well as off-field operational matters to be attended to in a Rugby Wold Cup year and as part of Peter de Villiers’ long-term planning he requested that time be made now so that the team can get straight to on-field work once they gather for the first Tests of the year in July.”
De Villiers said: “Our first Tri-Nations Test kicks off only two weeks after the Vodacom Super Rugby final and I wanted to make sure that we can get straight to work on the field with some quality preparation when we get together and not be compromised by players familiarising themselves with our structures or understanding logistical issues.
“By the end of this series of camps I hope that any of the players we call on will be familiar with our on and off the field systems and the logistical boxes have all been ticked. These sessions are not about selection now – they’re about being ready when we make the final selections.”
The selectors named seven uncapped players in the planning group although only three of them are not already Springboks: wing Lionel Mapoe, scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and looseforward Duane Vermeulen.
The four uncapped Springboks among the group are flyhalf Elton Jantjies, scrumhalf Charl McLeod and props Coenie Oosthuizen and Werner Kruger. All four appeared for the Springboks against the Barbarians in December, 2010.
Overseas based players were not considered for the sessions.
The closed planning session will take place in Cape Town on May 1 and 2.
The first Springbok squad of the season will be named on July 2 or 9, depending on South African representation in the Vodacom Super Rugby final.
The players called to the national team planning session are:
| Player | Province | Tests |
| Willem Alberts | The Sharks | 3 |
| Gio Aplon | DHL Western Province | 13 |
| Bjorn Basson | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 4 |
| Andries Bekker | DHL Western Province | 24 |
| Bakkies Botha | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 72 |
| Heinrich Brüssow | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | 13 |
| Schalk Burger | DHL Western Province | 63 |
| Keegan Daniel | The Sharks | 1 |
| Juan de Jongh | DHL Western Province | 6 |
| Jean de Villiers | DHL Western Province | 67 |
| Bismarck du Plessis | The Sharks | 36 |
| Jannie du Plessis | The Sharks | 24 |
| Fourie du Preez | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 55 |
| Jaque Fourie | DHL Western Province | 62 |
| Peter Grant | DHL Western Province | 5 |
| Bryan Habana | DHL Western Province | 68 |
| Alistair Hargreaves | The Sharks | 2 |
| Francois Hougaard | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 8 |
| Adi Jacobs | The Sharks | 32 |
| Elton Jantjies | MTN Golden Lions | – |
| Ricky Januarie | DHL Western Province | 47 |
| Ryan Kankowski | The Sharks | 17 |
| Zane Kirchner | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 14 |
| Werner Kruger | Vodacom Blue Bulls | – |
| Pat Lambie | The Sharks | 4 |
| Francois Louw | DHL Western Province | 7 |
| Bandise Maku | MTN Golden Lions | 1 |
| Lionel Mapoe | MTN Golden Lions | – |
| Victor Matfield | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 105 |
| Charl McLeod | The Sharks | – |
| Tendai Mtawarira | The Sharks | 26 |
| Waylon Murray | MTN Golden Lions | 3 |
| Lwazi Mvovo | The Sharks | 2 |
| Odwa Ndungane | The Sharks | 7 |
| Wynand Olivier | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 31 |
| Coenie Oosthuizen | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | – |
| JP Pietersen | The Sharks | 36 |
| Dewaldt Potgieter | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 6 |
| Sarel Pretorius | GWK Griquas | – |
| Chiliboy Ralepelle | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 18 |
| Danie Rossouw | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 54 |
| John Smit | The Sharks | 102 |
| Juan Smith | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | 69 |
| Pierre Spies | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 40 |
| Gurthrö Steenkamp | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 31 |
| Deon Stegmann | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 4 |
| Morné Steyn | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 25 |
| Adriaan Strauss | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | 9 |
| CJ van der Linde | DHL Western Province | 69 |
| Flip van der Merwe | Vodacom Blue Bulls | 10 |
| Duane Vermeulen | DHL Western Province | – |
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