Having reviewed most positions over the last 10 weeks, the time has come to select my Bok squad and starting XV for this year’s Rugby World Cup tournament in New Zealand in September/October. I do not suggest that these are the players I would start in the Tri-Nations – we should consider resting senior players who stand nothing to gain traveling to Australasia two months before the RWC. I am also of the belief that the Tri-Nations should be played once every four years, and certainly not in a world cup year. But that’s another story for another day. Click through to see the squad, and weigh in with your opinion.
Morrey’s Springbok RWC Squad:
Francois Steyn, Gio Aplon, Bjorne Basson, JP Peterson, Brian Habana would be my five outside backs. I would then take Juan De Jonge, Jean de Villiers and Jacques Fourie as my three centers. I would select Morne Steyn and Butch James as my two flyhalves, and Fourie du Preez and Francois Hougaard as my scrumhalves. In addition, I would take Pat Lambie to cover 10, 12 and 15 and Ruan Pienaar to cover 9 and 10.
Up front I would select The Beast and Guthro Steenkamp as my two looseheads, with Jannie du Plessis and another tighthead (I am lost as to who that would be). I would take three hookers in Bismarck, Chiliboy and the Captain, John Smit. Regarding Smit, I would definitely want him in the squad. He adds great stability and a lot of experience when things get emotional – and they will get emotional.
Victor, Bakkies, Andries Bekker and Dannie Rossouw would be my four locks. In the back row, I would take Heindrich Brussouw, Juan Smith and Schalk Burger as my starting trio – in that jersey order. In other words, Schalk would be at 8. I would also take Ashley Johnson and Willem Alberts. Johnson wasn’t in my reckoning initially, but his consistent sublime performances of the last eight weeks have meant that there is no way he could be left out.
That totals a squad of 30. If I was forced to pick a starting XV for the final and all players were fit, I would go with:
Steyn, Peterson, Fourie, de Villiers, Aplon, James, du Preez, Burger, Smith, Brossouw, Matfield, Rossouw, du Plessis, du Plessis, Mtawirira.
The two most unlucky players in the country are Sarel Pretorius and Duane Vermeulen. They would be my non traveling back up players along with Robert Eberson, Lawazi Mvovo and Coennie Oosthuizen.
Finally, let me say that this squad is, in my opinion, a RWC-winning squad, and at the very least as a good a squad as the one that won the 2007 tournament. So who would you select differently? Who would you start in a world cup final? Can you think who might fill the second tight head spot?
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