Probable Springbok Squad after training Run

The Bok match 23 will be announced on Wednesday.

Probable Boks for Wales – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen , 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira.

Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie are likely to resume their successful midfield partnership when the Springboks front Wales this Saturday, reports JON CARDINELLI in Cardiff.

Bok coach Heyneke Meyer is set to make several changes to the starting side for this weekend's game at the Millennium Stadium. 2007 World Cup winner JP Pietersen is expected to play on the right wing, while another member of that World Cup-winning class of 2007, namely Fourie, should wear the No 13 jersey.

It will mark the first time Pietersen has played for the Boks in 2013. Fourie is yet to play a Test under Meyer, and last represented the Boks in 2011. Both were unavailable for the recent Rugby Championship due to club commitments in Japan.

On Monday afternoon, Fourie ran alongside De Villiers in the centres during a training session in Cardiff. This midfield pair has produced some outstanding performances for South Africa in the past, and it's clear that Meyer wants to see if Fourie still complements De Villiers as well as he did before.

The return of Fourie and Pietersen does lend the Bok backline a more experienced and physical look. The likely inclusion of Pietersen should also bring more balance to the back three, and it could be that Willie le Roux shifts to fullback.

Fourie du Preez will partner Morné Steyn in the halfbacks, as Meyer opts for some continuity in selection. The back-row combination of Francois Louw, Willem Alberts, and Duane Vermeulen is also expected to remain intact.

There should, however, be a couple of changes to the tight five. Flip van der Merwe will start at No 5, a position he played for the Boks earlier this season with some success. Van der Merwe was a No 5 when South Africa crushed Australia to end their losing streak in Brisbane.

With Jannie du Plessis unavailable because of injury and Meyer reluctant to start Coenie Oosthuizen at No 3, it seems as though Frans Malherbe could start on Test debut. The Stormers and Western Province tighthead prop is highly rated by Meyer, and was part of the Bok coach's initial training squad in 2012 before picking up a serious injury.

While most of the overseas-based players joined the Bok squad on Monday morning, the team management has confirmed that Zane Kirchner and Bakkies Botha will only link up with the group on Tuesday.

Gee Dave....I'm sorry. Just don't do anything stupid!

 I hope that team happens. Fat Dave will be sitting with more egg on his face..

We might as well call the fat prick "Humpty Dumpty" because they have many similarities..They both short and round and made  up largely of egg and a mere shell of what a man should be.  Humpty did have more people skills though and was probably more popular with the chicks!

 I have serious reservations about Flip van der Merwe  at lock no 5 - he is not a line out jumper - was poor in both positions (4 and 5) in the past and is no real asset - he is too liable to get carded or penalized in any event. 

Morne Steyn is another disappointment - especially after the fiasco at Ellis Park where he failed miserably.   The longer he stays in the mix - the poorer the results to be expected.   He is just not a worthy candidate for 10 and needs to be given the boot asap.    

Insofar as Fourie and Du Preez is concerned, it would be interesting to note what they produce at 13 and 9.   Du Preez played from the bench against the Pumas and was magic - he played an above average game against the Wallabies and was underdone and out of steam against the All Blacks - I would like to see whether the "rest" in Japan helped in his case.    There is no clarity whether Fourie will produce the goods at 13 - and I would like to see what impact he has on attacking play in particular. 

I expected Malherbe to be selected ahead of Coenie in any event - despite Mozart's standard attempt at character and player assassination.

It would be interesting to see whose on the bench.   If Fourie is to start as indicated, I think that Lambie, Pienaar and Engelbrecht will be on the bench.   Amongst the forwards the bench is likely to be Strauss, Coenie and Kolisi plus either Botha or Du Toit at locks and I am hoping against hope that after his hopeless display for Toulouse this past weekend - that Meyer forget about Steenkamp.  Knowing Meyer - it is likely that Botha may be on the bench.

There are some serious weak spots left in the team if the above is selected.   Those are in particular Steenkamp and Alberts.   The real uncertain positions could be 13 and Botha - where  performances should be properly scrutinised and obviously also 3 to see how Malherbe performs.   He can make a huge name for himself on this tour and I am sure he will do his  utmost to do just that.   

 Come now brother Beeno, you surely dont believe that? Why would the coach need to assess where two great Boks are at the moment and especially against the Welsh in Cardiff. Surely he would use the Scots game for any assessment as its a much less daunting task.

Smart money would be to ease Fourie back into it like they did with Du Preez but he is good enough to come straight in as must JP as it will not be a new combination if Morne, Jean, Fury and JP started. It would be like old times when we could actually pride ourselves on defence.

If JJ starts it will simply be to ease Fourie back.

Meyer has indicated that JP and Habana will start and they reckon he is unlikely to deviate from his "solid as a house" fullback in Kirchner. This leaves no space for Willie. It was always Meyer's plans for Willie to be a "super-sub" and it looks like thats what he might be on this tour and thats only if they can afford to leave guys like Serfontein/JJ/Aplon off the bench..Lambie would have to take one spot covering 10 and 15..Its likely Serfontein or JJ will be the other unless JP covers centre and Willie can come on to the bench.

Gota feel sorry for Willie because if all this is true, he will find himself dropped for playing well. Personally, although I think he is a wing and not fullback, he should be on the park at the expense of Kirchner. I strongly feel that we should take this tour and convert JP into a specialist fullback. Leave Willie to do his thing on the wing. We should also take this tour to give Serfontein much more game time so we can see how he really goes. Against the Scots, Serfontein and Fourie should start. Against Wales, Jean and Fourie with Serfontein getting 25 mins at least at 12. Against France, Jean and Fourie and change depending on the situation. Use Jean sparingly over this tour. Basically 120 mins each for him and Serfontein would be good if we can and scoreboard allows but Fourie should play 240 mins if fitness/injuries allow.

Etzebeth and should start against Wales and France with PSDT starting at 5 all 3. Give the Scots to Bakkies and see if he still has it. We know what Etzebeth can do. He has nothing to prove and is vital we manage him properly throughout Super rugby too.

It is important that JJ doesn't sniff the field. If he does, we will need to be 35 - 6 up on the Scots after 70mins so if JJ comes on, we can still sneak away 35-34 or something like that. With his tackling technique, 4 tries in 10 mins is a possibility ;-)

Boklogic

Your logic is not very clear in the above case.   If Meyer leaves out Le Roux and play the disastrous Kirchner - he would destroy whatever attacking rugby is left in the backline.   That really will be a backward move - since Kirchner's only claim to fame is that he played for the Bulls and is consequently a pet of Meyer.

The other issue that is not clear to me is whether Fourie has not gone backwards in Japan.  One will have to wait and see.   I was not altogether happy with Du Preez's last two performances - very average and he ran out of steam in the AB test.  Will Fourie be the same?  Only future performances will tell.

JP had a poor Super 15 this year and it is not certain whether he will be back to his best for the Springboks.   He was tried at full back and center  previously and failed in both positions.  His only option is at wing.   I cannot understand how you can say that Le Roux is only a wing.   He played full back from his junior days for the Griquas and was only put on the wing by the Cheetahs - because of Daniller was their first choice full back and Le Roux was equally good on the wing.

I don' t like the potential selection of Van der Merwe in the starting line up - he is very poor in line out play and also selected because of his Bulls connection.   Has never really rated this guy.   They could start Bakkies against the Scots to see whether he is still any good.   Stronger opposition is likely to "kill" his chances and Meyer would not like to see that happen.  

I agree with you about the need to manage De Villiers and Etzebeth properly.             

 @Mike, thats not my logic bro..Thats a report I read on IOL news..

Willie is a decent Fullback but he is not a great fullback. He is very creative and has "magical" touches and a must in the bok setup but with being "magical" often takes a bit away from the safe aspect. His touches are often risk and reward and we dont want too much risk at the back. This is test rugby. Look at Monty..Did the basics well without taking too many risks. When he started as a centre, Monty was magic..He scored many tries and was a pretty high risk for high reward player. In his latter years when he slowed up, he could no longer play that game and he wisely chose to become a super safe fullback and do all the basics well.

Had he continued on as a centre, he would not have enjoyed the career he did.

Willie is not the tallest player around nor is he great under the high ball. This are attributes needed by a modern day test Fullback. He is a high risk and often high reward player as we have seen at Super rugby level but Test level is a different environment altogether where high risk can often cost you the game. A guy like Dagg will go down a great because he is makes magical look safe. He also knows when to have a go and when not to. He is just a special player and special players dont come around too often. The world has seen Serge Blanco, JPR Williams and you can add Dagg to that list by the time he is done! These are just special players. They can just do things others cant for some reason.

 Willie is no Dagg. Lets not be mistaken. He often pushes the boundary when it is not on. He may become a Dagg one day but the man has enjoyed 1 season..Everyone knows the second season is the hardest. Willie has announced himself on the test arena now so next year the big dogs will watch him a lot more closely as they did Frans Steyn, as they did Pat Lambie and every other player.

Test fullbacks need to be experienced guys in my opinion and they need to have a high skillset and excute well more often than not. Not great skills and flair that is hit an miss ala Jantjies at 10! If we are to turn Willie into a test 15, we are robbing him of his game and this is not the right time in his career. JP is ready to become our next Monty. He is time served, has seen every scenario on a test rugby field, has the size and pace and is not bad under high ball. Of course he can get better but thats for him to work on as Monty did!

Boklogic

Are you really sure about your statement on Le Roux and Kirchner?   Kirchner is 1,85 meter and Willie 1,90 meter - that is considerably taller than Kirchner and fairly tall for a backline player.

I do not think that occasional mistakes makes a difference to players overall performances.  Predictability and non-thinking play in respect of Kirchner is not an asset and I think he has been poor throughout his career.  He never knew when to join the backline and when he did he often enough destroyed attacking play by his inability to pass the ball properly or because he hung into the ball.

I believe if the choice is between Le Roux and Kirchner - my choice - and the logical one - will always be Le Roux.  Your argument on skill set is also proper - but does Kirchner have a skill set other than catching balls and kicking?

Lastly - I do not like the idea of developing a player to play in a different position in the latter part of his career.  You talked about Monty - he was young when he was moved to full back at the age of 23 - not 27 as will be the case of Pietersen should that ever happen.         

But I agree about the second year  bug.   You mentioned Dagg - last year he was tops - this year not the best around - in Super 15 he was not on par with Ben Smith at all.     

Boklogic

I apologize.  The source I normally used for player information and background is linked to the SARU website for info and reflect the info of SARU.   Why they were giving Le Roux as being 1,90 only they would know.   I checked the official SARU website and he is indeed 1,86 meter