Ken Borland

The city of Pretoria was in shock on Saturday night as three Bulls players who many considered to be dead-certainties for the Springbok squad to take on the British and Irish Lions were omitted from the 46 players announced by SA Rugby.

Inside centre Cornal Hendricks and loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka have both been instrumental in the Bulls’ rise to dominance in domestic rugby, while Marcell Coetzee, after five dazzling years with Ulster, made a much-hyped return to local rugby in the match against the Stormers. And he certainly lived up to expectations with a bulldozing display that made up for Duane Vermeulen leaving the field injured.

Hendricks’ omission is the most interesting, with director of rugby Rassie Erasmus admitting the inspirational 33-year-old would have been chosen were it not for the continued doubts the SA Rugby medical staff have over his heart condition, which led them to cancel his national contract at the end of 2015. This is despite Hendricks enjoying two thoroughly healthy and productive years at the Bulls.

“The form Cornal is in, everyone can see that there must be some other reason for not choosing him. We have been scratching our heads over him and his medical condition and he is still very much in consideration. But it’s not up to myself or Jacques Nienaber [coach] to take a medical decision, he must be cleared first by our medical team.

“We spoke nicely with him a couple of weeks ago. The moment we get the green light then we can pick him, but we have to wait for the official word. Neil Powell is waiting too because he wants to take him to the Olympics with the Springbok Sevens,” Erasmus said.

The 46-man Springbok squad is a bit light at inside centre, with Damian de Allende and Francois Steyn the only players who have been regularly wearing the No.12 jersey.

Erasmus said Coetzee was certainly in contention for the squad but they were concerned that he had not played since March due to injury. But locks Lood de Jager and RG Snyman are both still injured and have not played for just as long but are in the squad.

De Jager fractured his femur in early April and Snyman has not played since August 2020 after rupturing his ACL and then picking up an unrelated knee injury last month.

“The difference is Lood and RG have won the World Cup and the Rugby Championship, they have played 20 Tests with us and we know them. We know how to get them fit and we’ll know if they’re sharp,” Erasmus said.

Gqoboka has become one of the darlings of Pretoria with his strong scrummaging and powerful ball-carrying, but Coenie Oosthuizen, who last played for the Springboks so long ago he might need a visa, and Ox Nche have leapfrogged him into the Springbok squad.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber admitted Gqoboka was unfortunate, but pointed to him arriving at an alignment camp last week with his foot encased in a moon-boot. Bulls coach Jake White had said earlier in the week though that Gqoboka should be okay to play next week.

Ahead of such major events as a British and Irish Lions tour, it is obligatory for all South African rugby fans to choose their Springbok squad to take on the tourists and, for me, just running through the list of players available makes me confident the hosts can turn the Lions’ roar into a meow.

Not that I am predicting a 3-0 whitewash by any means, I am sure all three Tests will be epic contests and a 2-1 margin is most likely. But the Springboks, providing they can reach Test match intensity quickly having not played at that level in over 18 months, can really hurt the Lions.

The superb Springbok pack that won the World Cup final, barring a couple of retirees, is still intact. And Jacques Nienaber is able to add players who have dominated their European opposition at club level, like Marcell Coetzee, Jasper Wiese, Rynhardt Elstadt and probably one of the Du Preez brothers (Dan or Jean-Luc), to that mix.

Set-piece prowess is going to be a big factor in the series and South Africa have wonderful back-up props and locks in Lizo Gqoboka, Trevor Nyakane, Ox Nche, Marvin Orie, Jason Jenkins and either JD Schickerling or Ruan Nortje. Imagine if Lood de Jager and RG Snyman were fit as well!

While South African rugby’s strength has traditionally been up front, it’s not as if the backline is going to concede tries like the Melbourne Rebels do. Plus they have some of the best attacking players in world rugby in their midst like Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi and Handre Pollard. In midfield, Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am are like the mailman, they always deliver, and Faf de Klerk is still a pain in the opposition’s butt.

And I am looking forward to some dazzling new international careers being born for the likes of Aphelele Fassi and Wandisile Simelane.

Apart from speed merchants Mapimpi and Kolbe, there is ‘toe’ aplenty in back-up wings Sbu Nkosi, Yaw Penxe, Raymond Rhule and utility back Damian Willemse.

I feel desperately sorry for the likes of De Jager, Snyman, Warrick Gelant and Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who did his knee three weeks ago, who will miss the series due to injury. It makes me even sadder that Cornal Hendricks, such an inspiring revelation at inside centre for the Bulls, is likely to miss out purely for off-field reasons relating to his legal action against SA Rugby over the handling of his heart condition.

I have sympathy for Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus as they undertook the hellish task of choosing 45 players and breaking the hearts of several others. Who do you choose between Penxe and Madosh Tambwe? Even without Hendricks, does Andre Esterhuizen, so close to the 2019 World Cup squad, make it or do they recall Jan Serfontein?

What about Curwin Bosch? Does the squad need four flyhalves when you have the utility ability of Francois Steyn and Willemse?

Quality scrumhalves like Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier look set to miss out, while Jacques Vermeulen deserves a place for sheer tenacity, but is probably going to join one of the Du Preezs on the sidelines.

Even without De Jager and Snyman, there is probably only space for one of Schickerling and Nortje, and there are quality, in-form props like Carlu Sadie, Sti Sithole and Wilco Louw who will not get the nod.

Many of these players will just get to play in the one game against the Lions, for the SA A team in Cape Town on July 14, but they will forever have the experience of being in the Springbok camp, involved in the greatest series of them all, even if it is in a bio-bubble.

The squad will then be cut to 35-37 players depending on injuries, but in a hectic year for South African rugby, I’m sure many of those will be used in the team at some stage. There are going to be big squads chosen to sit in the bubbles in Australia and New Zealand for the Rugby Championship as well.

It is the nature of selection in a sport with such passionate provincial loyalties as rugby that everyone will have an individual player that they are adamant should have been in the squad. But these are the 45 men I would have in the Springbok squad (knowing full well that some of them are not going to be included):

Willie le Roux, Aphelele Fassi, Damian Willemse; Cheslin Kolbe, Raymond Rhule, Jan Serfontein; Lukhanyo Am, Jesse Kriel, Wandisile Simelane; Damian de Allende, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Steyn; Makazole Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi, Yaw Penxe; Handre Pollard, Elton Jantjies, Morne Steyn; Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Ivan van Zyl; Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee, Jean-Luc du Preez; Pieter-Steph du Toit, Rynhardt Elstadt, Jasper Wiese; Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden; Franco Mostert, Marvin Orie, Ruan Nortje; Eben Etzebeth, Jason Jenkins; Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Trevor Nyakane; Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx, Scarra Ntubeni; Steven Kitshoff, Lizo Gqoboka, Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit.

Springbok resting protocols will allow numerous Sharks fringe players to cash in on some lengthy playing opportunity when a much-changed team travels to Johannesburg to take on the Lions in their Rainbow Cup match on Saturday.

Coach Sean Everitt on Thursday announced a team with 10 changes to the starting line-up that went down to the Stormers a fortnight ago. That includes a new front row, the return of Hyron Andrews at lock, two new loose forwards and four changes to the backline, one of which is the return of Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi.

With the Currie Cup confirmed to start on June 18 and the Rainbow Cup final being played the next day, as well as the Sharks set to lose a large number of players to the Springbok squad, the jostling for starting spots in the team is increasing.

“The selection is very much about supporting the Springboks’ resting protocols, but it’s a good opportunity for other guys who we may be working with for a lengthy period, maybe until December. We do have the players to cover and most of them have been in the 23-man squad anyway, this is not a young and inexperienced team. It’s just starting is a different role for them.

“The matchday squad is not that different to the one against the Stormers [15/23] and it’s amazing the difference it makes to morale when everyone knows they’re going to get a shot. There has been good energy, a lot of excitement and attention in training this week. We know we have great depth, we are a vastly improved squad and the more the exposure the better the players will be for it,” Everitt said on Thursday.

Apart from resting protocols, Covid is also a massive factor in rugby today and Everitt’s plans of giving his first-choice front row of Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit a complete rest this week were dashed when his third-choice trio of Khwezi Mona, Michael Kumbirai and Dan Jooste were all in contact with someone in the Toyota Invitation XV who tested positive after their friendly match against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein at the weekend.

It means Mbatha, Nche and Du Toit will have to sit on the bench on Saturday, and against a rock-solid Lions scrum, one would not bet against them having to come on and play a key role if the Sharks are to maintain their challenge for the Rainbow Cup title.

Sharks team: Anthony Volmink, Yaw Penxe, Werner Kok, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Manie Libbok, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Henco Venter (c), James Venter, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, Wiehahn Herbst, Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench – Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain, Jeremy Ward.

When Willie le Roux hared off to Wasps in 2017 he knew that he was putting his Springbok career at risk such were the stricter rules surrounding the use of overseas players at the time. But he was still in the Green and Gold two years later and his experience at fullback was important in winning the 2019 World Cup.

And now, with almost another two years having passed, Le Roux is still the first-choice fullback at an evergreen 31-years-old. This is both a blessing and a concern because should the Toyota Verblitz star get injured, it is probably the position in the squad for the series against the British and Irish Lions where coach Jacques Nienaber has the least back-up, especially with Warrick Gelant unlikely to recover in time from his ACL surgery.

Damian Willemse was a late call-up to the World Cup squad as a replacement for Jesse Kriel and has only accumulated six caps. His recent form for the Stormers has been promising rather than spectacular and there are many who believe Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi should now be considered the back-up to Le Roux.

Fassi himself is uncapped though and the development of his undoubted talent was put back a bit by the serious shoulder injury he suffered last year.

So fullback looks a little thin for Nienaber’s liking, and he could be looking at utility players like Francois Steyn, Johan Goosen or Raymond Rhule to provide cover there or maybe even Kriel, Handre Pollard or Sbu Nkosi in an emergency.

In terms of the all-important tight five, while there is pleasing depth in the front row and lots of in-form Black stars like Bongi Mbonambi, Lizo Gqoboka, Ox Nche, Scarra Ntubeni, Joseph Dweba and Trevor Nyakane to choose from, injuries have marred Nienaber’s options at lock.

World Cup winners RG Snyman and Lood de Jager are both racing against time to be fit and are unlikely to make the 45-man squad that will be announced on Saturday.

While the Springboks’ starting pair of Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert are absolutely world-class, there is a lack of experience thereafter.

Marvin Orie has been capped only three times and Jason Jenkins has played just a solitary Test. The other two main contenders for a place – Ruan Nortje and JD Schickerling – would both be making their international debuts.

Toulouse hardman Rynhardt Elstadt has helped his French club to European glory and top of the log domestically, and can cover lock as well, but has played just two Tests. The Springbok management will be loathe to move Pieter-Steph du Toit to the second row given what a tremendous impact he has had playing on the flank.