I think Meyer in contemplating the squad should take note of the performances of the SA players he may wish to utilize in his squad as reflected by the games this weekend and wish to start a thread on that one:-
Saracens - Toulouse Game
The only game this weekend that has a pertinent impact this weekend is the Toulouse - Saracens game. In this game there were three squad members on the Toulouse bench who were brought on during the second half - as well as Schalk Ferreia - who was in the staring line-up.
Ferreira had an excellent game in both scrumming and other facets of the game - but he obviously is not on the Meyer shortlist. The following are being noted about the three players in the squad of Meyer at one time or another:-
Chilliboi Rallepele
Was at best average in performance with a few ball carries and tackles - nothing really to write home about.
Gurthro Steenkamp
Before he came on the Toulouse scrum was dominating. After he came on the scrumming became messy and he was also penalized for illegal scrumming. This penalty was in range and converted.
Steenkamp really produced nothing at all for the rest - but after Toulouse took a one point lead - he gifted Saracens another penalty which was fortunately for Toulouse not converted.
A really torrid display on the part of Steenkamp and Meyer would make a serious mistake if he retains this player in his squad.
Jano Vermaak
After he came on after halftime - his service was crisp and above average. He also made one good break around the fringes. Had on the whole an above average game.
In essence the by some distance the best SA player on display thus far this weekend was Ferreira - followed by an above average Vermaak, an average Rallepele and a very poor Steenkamp.
I WILL UPDATE THIS THREAD AS THE GAMES PROGRESSES.
WP - Golden Lions Game
The assessment of the game is rather difficult when it comes to the Springbok squad - because the key players making a real impact were Aplon an Knobel - both players not being in the Springbok squad. Those in the squad can be summarised as follows:-
Outstanding performances
Etzebeth, Vermeulen and De Villiers
Iffy performances
Kolisi started off very poorly, knocking on a ball and giving away a penalty - but later on had one significant ball carry and made a reasonable number of tackles. In genral his performance in the winning side were non-descript.
Other performances
Much was made of the return of Schalk Burger - if anyone was expecting miracles - there were none. He came on for 20 minutes and did very little. One miss tackle before the Lions try and one ball carry and one pass was the sum total of his achievements in the 20 minutes he played.
Fourie had a good game - but spoiled it all by giving away 3 penalties early - which kept the Lions in contention. Had two very good runs - but he also have lost possession because both ended up in penalties. A nice player to watch - but a danger for the team. Did make one turnover and made some good tackles.
Jantjies had a poor game and did nothing of consequence - he clearly was out of depth and harmless as well. Was replaced thereafter and the Lions backline looked better after that.
Mozart had a long song and dance about the issue of Malherbe last week. The WP scrum early on was a mess - especially because of Cilliers. That stabilized when Malherbe came on and as a matter of fact WP got the upper hand after the change.
Other than Aplon and Kolbe - De Allende and Catrakillis played very well. It is a pity that Aplon is really too old to be considered for selection - but the other three will not let any team down.
The Sharks - Cheetahs game
The Sharks won this game by he grace of Lambie with his contribution of 23 points.
Outstanding performances
Lambie stood out above everyone else. Bismarck was good - despite his yellow card. Du Toit had a very good game as well. Coetzee was very good as well. Marais once again showed tremendous promise.
On the Cheetahs side Strauss had a very good game and Labuschagne through his try and numerous ball carries (where it normally requires two of three tacklers to bring him down) and large tackle ratio had a very good game on a side where the forwards of the Cheetahs was under constant pressure.
Serous disappointment
After long reports about the return of Francois Steyn - it turned into nothing. He handled the ball four times - got tackled by the first opponent in the first case, tried to run around the back of players in the second case and got squashed by Labuschagne - the other two cases resulting in aimless kicks. He was interviewed at half time and from what I saw - he is still overweight and hardly fit - with his speed nothing better than it was before his injury. Definitely far from ready for higher selection.
Van Zyl had a very bad game as scrummie and I think he should not be in the squad any longer.
Summary
In general Goosen stats to look better - but there is still some time before he will be really in top form - he looks promising though.
