SA based Bok squad and Bok team for 2016

one of the last times i was on, there was thread discussing the merits of selecting SA based players only.

i believe this is a great idea, as SA has a ton of talent to build on as the next RWC cycle begins, without having to sacrifice everything the way meyer did between 2012-2015.

using the RWC formula of only having 31 players, ive selected a squad of key SA based players and ive also named my strongest possible combination from that squad.

2016 Bok squad

props
beast, trevor nyakane, marcel van der mewe, frans malherbe, connie osthuizen

hooker
adriaan strauss, sacra ntubeni,

locks
lood de jager, PSDT, lady elizabeth, rg snyman

looseforwards
jacko kreil, nizam carr, lappies labuschange, arno botha, marcell coetzee, siya kolisi

halfbacks
cobius rinach, faf de klerk, rudy page

flyhalfs
handre pollard, bambi, elton janties

centers
jan serfontein, damien de allende, jj enlgbrechett, lionel mapoe

outsidebacks
jesse kreil, willie le roux, chelsin kolbe, cornal hendricks

notes regarding the squad
there are some players who i left out cos they are on 7s duty, the main one is francois hougaard who would have also been my in{umbent scrumhalf.




from this 31 man squad of SA based players, my top Bok team plus bench would be...

Bok XV
1 beast, 2 a strauss, 3 f malherbe

4 l de jager, 5 lady elizabeth

6 j kreil, 7 m coetzee, 8 n carr

9 r paige, 10 h pollard

12 j serfontein, 13 d de allende

11 w le roux, 15 j kreil, 14 jj englbrechtt

16 s ntubeni, 17 t nyakane, 18 c oosthuizen, 19 PSDT, 20 arno botha, 21 c reinach, 22 bambi, 23 l mapoe

this is IMO a great team to move forward with in 2016 against the top teams, with depth to cover the unknown.

the main purpose of this squad is to start fresh while sending a message to SA players that loyalty to SA rugby will be rewarded.

key notes on some positions regarding my Bok XV and the bench while the rest speak fro themselves,,,

- 6) j kreil has IRB player of the year written all over him, NZ has/had McCaw, australia has poooc0ck and SA has kreil.

- 7) m coetzee omission from the Bok squad was one of the biggest blunders ive ever seen in a RWC, even crazier considering the went with francois slow.
while coetzee has predominantly played openside in his 1st grade career, i would play him at blindside where IMO he is best suited.
the physical presence he consistently shows game in and game out is not unusual for a top quality SA loosie, but the consistent tempo of his game is very very rare to find in any saffa.

- 8) n carr was another silly omission, a loosie who can play 6-8.
IMO hes the only looseforward in SA who has natural playmaking abilities and vision.
those skills are a dime a dozen amongst loosies in NZ and its why NZ has the best and most fluid link ups in set and broken play between forwards and backs.
n carr has the skillset to bring that part of SAs loosforward game into the modern era

- 9) r paige has really impressed me with the limited time hes had and its why he gets my nod as the starting halfback.
had hougaard been available though, he wouldnt have made the 23 at all, as reinachs ability to always have a positive impact of the bench would have made him more valuable.
paige though might lose out to reinach when it comes to a footrace, but everything else u would expect from a half looks a lot quicker when paige is executing it.

- 12 j serfontein another stupid omission from meyer, he should have always been in the RWC squad. it was one everyone seen coming though with how desperate meyer was to get JDV in.
serfontein is SAs best 12 period.
a very physical player whose frame betrays untrained eye to the power he packs in both his attacking and defensive plays.

- 13 d de allende has IMO always been better suited for outside centre.
he may be a big lad, but its not the physical aspect of his game which makes him a deadly threat, its his skill and speed and rugby nous when it comes to using those skills which makes him lethal for any opposition.
it dosent mean he dosent have a physical game, cos he has demonstrated enough times that he does, but his style of rugby has always been one of a 13, not a 12.

- 11 willi le roux plays his best Bok rugby on the wing.
his attacking flair dosent lose anything outwide, as hes not afraid to go looking for the ball and get involved often.
but he does have a very high error rate which is unacceptable at test level rugby.
playing le roux on the wing is a great way to make the most of his attack, while cutting down the number of errors hes prone to making.

- 14) jj englebrechett was always a gifted centre with an amazing turn of pace, but he wont be usurping de allende whose been the form back for the last two years.
i would play jj out on the wing where his size and speed plus combination with the other bulls players would be sure to bring out the best of him.
hes too good to lose out to the rugby wilderness.

- 15) jesse kreil is touted as a 13, but the best rugby ive seen from him has come from when hes playing fullback.
to play in the number 15 at test level, composure is one of the things needed the most, for without it, all ur other skill sets are worthless.
kreil has a ton of composure, he will know when to attack and when to kick and what ever decision he comes up with for the situation hes facing, hes bound to make the right one and execute it almost flawlessly.

i will never understand why theres a need for SA to go overseas and look for players, as this team was pretty easy to come up with.

and while im aware that had i picked players based outside of SA, my squad and team would look even better, the players i did pick would instill a confidence in SA rugby which has been missing for a long time. confidence which would have a positive domino effect for all involved in SA rugby.

You are missing far too many home based players Sas 

@saffex,

theres a few players i couldnt add cos they will be on 7s duty in 2016, but i also wanted to restrict the squad numbers to what the RWC would allow.

would like to hear ur squad though saffex and any possible players to look out for,

I dont buy into the selecting home based players only.....its short sighted in this modern age.....the world is a far smaller place these days and selections should not be restrictive for you serve only to sell yourself short.
Must admit I did not read your limit to a 31 player restriction, hence my comment. 
I have posted a lengthy post on our talent available....its on here somewhere.....I'll bump it up for you.
My 31 based at Home would be:
Willie
Kolbe, Ulengo, v/Wyk
de Allende, Serfontein, Kriel, Vorster
Pollard, Jantjies, Lambie
Hougaard, Faf de Klerk, Reinach
Nyakane, Thomas du Toit, Malherbe, Marcel v/d Merwe, Coenie
Strauss, Malcolm Marx
Etzebeth, Lood, PSDT, Ruan Botha
Jaco Kriel, Kolisi, Coetzee, Arno Botha, Mtembu, Elstadt

 It is to my mind premature to select players now.   I would prefer to look at how players perform in Super rugby.   

 agreed mike but still there is s wealth of talent locally and that is the message we need to send 

 CM
The best we can do is to keep a critical look-out for the players listed above in Super rugby and see how they go this year.   There may be some new blood to be added and I am very confident that we gave the players to be competitive in future without having to carry the bad (professionally losing) baggage of the past.       

Rubbish, no harm in making a start on selections.....they are always open to review as time passes.
If I was the new Bok coach......the initial extended squad I would want to work with would be, bold being the 40 best :
Fullbacks: Willie, Andries Coetzee, Gellant
Wings: JP, Senatla, Kolbe, Sithole, Ulengo, Rhule, Combrink, v/Wyk, Sergel, Jordaan
Centres: de Allende, Jessie Kriel, Serfontein, Vorster, Dries Swanepoel, Mnisi, Odendaal, Frans Venter, Esterhuizen, Rohan Janse v/Rensburg, Mapoe, Frans Steyn
Flyhalves: Pollard, Jantjies, Goosen, Lambie
Scrumhalves: Hougaard, Faf, Reinach, Groom, v/Zyl
Props: Kitshoff, Malherbe, Marcel v/d Merwe, Coenie, Thomas du Toit, Nyakane, Kebble, Wilco Louw, Koch
Hookers: Bismark, Strauss, Marx, Scara, Mbonambi, Ackers
Locks: Etzebeth, Lood, Willemse, PSDT, Jacques du Plessis, Ruan Botha, Lewies, Lorens Erasmus, RG Snyman, Jason Jenkins, Jean Kleyn
Loosies: Vermeulen, Schalk, Kolisi, Carr, Elstadt, Notshe, Brussouw, Oupa, Jaco Kriel, Arno Botha, CJ Stander, v/d Walt, Coetzee, Labs, Mtembu, Liebenberg

 
One should easily be able to put a strong squad of talented youngsters together from what we've seen this past Super Rugby and Currie Cup season.

Stander is gone, Dave. He has to my knowledge just received his Irish citizenship ... forget about him. Hell of a loss.

You've listed too many useless options ... again. Players that have shown themselves up ... time and time again as mere chumps ...  not test match material.

Coenie is an embarrassment, Dave. AN EMBARRASSMENT!!!!!!!

No way I would want him near the Lions team ... never mind the Bokke.

When are you going to wake up, Dave?

A clue, Dave ... look for the talented players. Not the "hope to be talented oneday ... maybe, players" ... but those that actually have something special.

Willie, HouGat, Goosen, JP, Kriel, Fat Fransie, Lood, Jacques Du Plessie, Kolisi, Oupa, Mthembu and Coetzee all fall into the nothing special group, Dave. They could never take us forward.

Get rid of the Meyer mentality.

 dave how is the players you mentioned all local there is a lot of overseas based players in there..... 

Dave
With due respect - I agree with you Stander is a big loss to the Springboks - all because of Meyer and Ludeke.   I would have much rather has seen him instead of Willem Alberts in the Springbok WC squad.  
However, there are a few question marks on the list of players provided.  I have serious doubts about some of them as future Springboks in the 15 man game.  Those included -
*   Senatla and Kolbe - who showed serious defense deficiencies in the 15 man game in CC games abd seems to me to rather being 7's specialists.  I would even think that Kolbe may be an excellent scrummie if played in the 15 man game.
*   Jantjies was very good when he did play for the Lions this year - but I still have reservations about his temperament in tests and when under pressure.  Don't think he will ultimately make the grade.
*   I am in agreement with CC about Coenie.  His newck injury remains a serious problem and I would watch him in the Super series to see whether he is really up to standard.
*   I dealt with the Stander issue already - I think unfortunately it is crying about spilled milk at this stage.
*   I do not like locks being played at 7, vut still think the 7 must also be a player with ball sense and skills - with a proven record as a third line-out jumper as well.  Very few players meet that very real  requirement.     

Naru - the one problem I have with the policy of only selecting domestic players is that it is unfair to the players themselves, especially in this age of professionalism. Why should the players have to make the sacrifice of playing for fractions of their possible salary? It is a situation unique to South African players. Aussie and NZ blokes do make a sacrifice staying domestic, but its not nearly on the same level when you consider the exchange rates and relative economic situations. 
Go live in Joburg for a couple years, especially right now, and I think it will make more sense  

 oimatey
The problem I have is vastly different from the personal issue you emphasize.   We all know about problems people encounter in SA and that the conditions are not at all good for many people - as well as the fact that the SA currency is weak.   However, that does not imply that players suffer financially - especially when they are in the upper echelon of players.  
However, my problem is more based on the rugby-related problems relating to usage of foreign-based players.   I n the first instance you have players playing in different countries where different coaching and competition norms are found.   In the latter regard I wish to refer for instance to the fact that in Japan matches only occur fortnightly with a result that players are not compeitive if they have to play in successive weeks.  
The issue of coaching is also important - there is and will remain a difference between NH rugby and what is happening in the SH.  The latest RWC has shown that the SH rugby is more effective than the NH component.
Now where to in the broader siotuation?  The question is how do you do performance assessments on the  players scattered all over the world?  It is just not possible and in the end players are selected on reputation - which is totally unacceptable.
The second issue is how would the coach be able to instill a sense of uniformity in the team within the extremely limited time available.  This is virtual impossibility since the coaching set-up is totally diverse in many cases.  
In the end the situation is that the coach is faced with a situation where a coherent game plan is simply not implementable.   You cannot get players playing different styles of rugby to adhere to any kind of game plan within 14 days or even less.
I think there are too many practical problems in building up a team from non-coherent players and it is really a mess.  That perhaps is why most of the foreign-based players ultimately failed when they play in tests with a game plan nobody is actually able to implement properly.