Springbok team for World Cup 2015:

1.   Beast- best open side in SA

2.   Bismaark Duplessis- best hooker in the world

3.   TBC- no one is making this their position

4.   Eztebeth- best number4 lock in the world

5.   Matfield- best lineout forward & kick off forward in the world

6.   Deon Fourie- SA's top breakdown forward

7.   Schalk Burger- Highest work rate of any player

8.   Duane Vermuelen- all rounder, maybe 2nd best number 8 in the world

9.   Fourie Dupreez- the tactician. Excellent kicking and passing. 

10. Frans Steyn- the biggest flyhalf in world rugby. The biggest boot, and strong on the crash ball, good distributor.
12. Jean Devilliers- Very effective on attack and defence
13. Jaque Fourie- best defensive organiser in world rugby, and still effective in attack.
14. JP Pieterson- one of the best wingers in world rugby
15. Willie LeRoux- great playmaker from the back, can come in at 2nd receiver and vary the options.
11. Habana- still the best winger in the world along with being the highest paid.
Bench:Goosen (flyhalf)Reinach (scrummie)JJ Engelbrecht (or Delande-cover both inside & outside centre)
Jannie Duplessis
Strauss (hooker)Francoius Louw (open side cover)
Alberts

 With all do respect...you can not be serious about that team? Matfield?J Fourie,J de Villiers? and no number 11? I am not going to be one of those that tell you you are high on crack or be rude.But Sharkbok you wont win anything with that team. These old boys need to be laid to rest. With all the love and respect for the game.

De Allende may emerge where Serfontein and JJ haven't. I'm intrigued with a backline very similar to yours ....with 9 F du Preez ....10 Fransie...12 de Allende ....13 Jean. There is a lot of stuff to prove yet, but thatcould be a very physically imposing backline. 

 A number 5 lock core functions are:1. Lineouts2. tacking kickoffs3. Scrumming.age is not really a factor in these areas.

Matfield was all over the place, his work rate was phenominal. He may have made more tackles than any other forward, and he was one of the first to the breakdown and even counter attack breaks.
Jaque Fourie is renownded for his ability to organise backline defences, as the boks showed in 2013 EOYT with only one try conceded. Devilliers had one of his best seasons last year in 2013.
Did you watch the game against the Stormers. The commentators like Justin Marshall were all raving about Burger, and many gave him man of the match.
The worldcup is 1.5 years away- basically very close.

 Sharkbok
I am intrigued by ooen people suddenly elevating Steyn to be a flyhalf.   Other htn foal kicking h had a poor game - his handling and distribution was seriously suspect - his defence poor.   Unlike Mozart's and your believe - a flyhalf is not there only to kick at goal - he should also be a real thinking player whose ball distribution is acceptable and Steyn's yesterday was not.  Francois Steyn in a pressure situation will inevitably fail at flyhalf and the mere idea  of playing him at flyhalf would be a nail in the coffin off the Sptingbok team.
Fourie is absolutely useless in attack - where did you in the recent tests he played in found anything acceptable about his attacking play?   A backline comprising Steyn - Jean and Fourie will be an abortion and the most certain way of us failing in the WC.
Matfield yesterday played against two of the weajest locks in Super 14 and had no real opposition in the line out play.   Hi scrumming is weak and was noticeable in the previous games as well.  Really what are we looking for here .   A line out jumper only would be a serious mistake.   Matfield did not make more tackles than any other forward.  The poor Steenkamp - playing against the top NZ locks - stole more balls in line outs from opposition through-ins and made double the number of tackles Matfied made.    
The mere thought of having a poor defender like Alberts in the team with no real ball skills as a loosie - is an abortion as well.   
With that team we will not get beyond the Group stage of the competiton - if we by some luck do - we will inevitably lose in the quarterfinals.  We really will be the laughing stock of the competition.   I hope I would not live to see what will happen with that concoction  - it inevitably be worse than it was in 2011.             

all criticism is welcome under the condition that the critic posts the team they believe should start. It is all well and good not rating a player, but if their are not better options available- it is the best we have.

Steyn had a poor game....Lol. .....he was the 365 MOM.  But Goosen had the best flyhalf game of any SA 10 this season. Mike you are a joke.

 Well this would be my bok team if were talking form and wc.
1. The Beast2. Strauss3. Oustehazen4. Van der merwe5. Estebeth6. Deon Fourie7. Burger8. Vermulen9. Houggard10. Goosen11. Habana12. Steyn13. Fourie14. Peterson15. Le Roux

 Sharkbok
My team for the WC would be the following:-
15  Willie le Roux14  JP Pietersen13  Jean de Villiers12  Damian de Allende11  Brian Habana10  Patrick Lambie 9   Fourie du Preez 8   Dyane Vermeulen 7   Schalk Burger 6   Francois Louw 5   Eben Etzebeth 4   Flip van der Merwe 3   Frans Malherbe 2   Adriaan Strauss 1   Beast
16  Bismarck du Plessis17  *18  *19  Pieter-Steph du Toit20  Marcell Coetzee21  Cobus Reinach22  Johan Goosen23  Jan Serfontein
*   I am unsure about the props.  If Coenie plays - he cpould go into 3 and Malherbe to 18.   Jannie had a average game yesterday against virtually unknown props and did not live up to much.  His past games were even worse.   The other prop is a toss up.
I would not put in Francois Steyn - his goal kicking yesterday was tops - the rest of his game far from it.  Goal kicking is NOT the only function of a flyhalf - whether some believe it or not.    
         

 Mozart
You are a joke - Steyn was tops in goal kicking - the rest of his game far from it.  But then the joke is that you believe goal kicking is the only function of a flyhalf  - a really ridiculous one.  
Steyn's kicking at goal was good yesterday - but so were that of Goosen, Potgiieter and Boshoff.  the latter three did not come with the extra baffafe Steyn carried. 
I proved my point by dealing with ball handling and passing - as well as defence.   Steyn yesterday played like his name-sake Morne and that is really looking for real trouble as a flyhalf.  A robotic flyhalf is definitely NOT what we need. 
Incidentally Steyn was made MOM because of his foal kicking and that as far as I am concerned is not the alpha and omega of flyhalf play.  Anybody silly enough to believe it is - needs to have his head read.           

 ...not so clevermike , there's been a few changes to yr Springbok team from the one you posted last week..10 changes is a bit excessive is'nt it? and you've shifted de Allende from wing to center...

15  Willie le Roux                     

14  Lwazu Mvovo                     

13  Stefan Watermeyer             

12 Francois Venter                  

11  Damian De Allende             

10  Marnitz Boshoff                  

  9  Jaco Reinach                       

 8  Philip van der Walt         

  7  Lappies Labuschagne          

  6  Jaco Krie                            

  5  Flip van der Merwe              

  4  Lood de Jager                     

  3  Coenie Oosthuizen               

  2  Adriaan Strauss                  

   1 Tendai Mtawarira                 

 

 15  Willie le Roux                                  

 

14  JP Pietersen

13  Jean de Villiers

12  Damian de Allende

11  Brian Habana

10  Patrick Lambie

 9   Fourie du Preez

 8   Dyane Vermeulen

 7   Schalk Burger

 6   Francois Louw

 5   Eben Etzebeth

 4   Flip van der Merwe

 3   Frans Malherbe

 2   Adriaan Strauss

 1   Beast

 

16  Bismarck du Plessis

17  *

18  *

19  Pieter-Steph du Toit

20  Marcell Coetzee

21  Cobus Reinach

22  Johan Goosen

23  Jan Serfontein

I love how Michael is willing to play Jean at 13 given that he bombed at 13 throughout 2012. He cannot play 13.

 Sun Tzu
De Villirs did not bomb in 2012 - the Steyns did it.   Morne was piss-poor to the point of being dropped for the later part of the tests series and Francois did his normal - fat and slow - never passed a ball to anybody outside of him.  Those are facts of life.
De Villiers rarely saw a ball - when he did he used it quite well.   So how did he fail?       

 Thankfully none of you guys are or will ever be Springbok selectors. Nor will I.
We need to select on form players to represent us not old men. Stormers, Bulls or Cheetahs players as per your bias.
We need players who can deliver, win the S15, Four Nations and the WC 2015 and more for us.
1. Beast2. Bismark (Capt)3. Coenie.4. Eben5. Flip6. Coetzee7. Lappies.8. Alberts9. Reinach10. Boshoff11. Mvovo12. Steyn13. JJ14. Le Roux15. Marais
16. Strauss (vice-Capt)17. M v d Merwe18. Flip v d Walt19. S du Toit20. de Allende21. Hougaart/Groom22. Serfontein23, Taute

Youth, class and winners.