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'Beggars belief' - Shock Springboks omission leaves SA fans perplexed
A major omission from Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber’s alignment camp has set tongues wagging in South Africa. Evan Roos has been on the tip of many a Springbok fan’s tongue in the last 12 months. The Stormers back-row had been forecast for big things, many seeing him as a natural successor to Duane Vermuelen.
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In fact, he even did a bit of a number on the 35-year-old when the two met in a recent United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and the Stormers.
Yet Roos has, rather sensationally, been left out of Nienaber’s Springboks alignment squad.
The Boks will get their preparations for the Test rugby season underway on Sunday as Nienaber and his management team host the first of two so-called alignment camps. Typically the camps include all of their domestic Springboks hopefuls and given the number of players involved if you don’t make the selection it’s unlikely you’ll be in management plans for the coming season.
The omission of Roos, in particular, has left Bok fans scratching their heads, although Bulls loose forward Marcell Coetzee has also failed to make the cut despite fine form for the Jake White lead Pretorian franchise.
Popular pundit Mark Keohane wrote: “I am as bewildered as every rugby supporter would be that Roos can’t even crack a nod to an alignment camp, which spells out the next 18 months build-up to the 2023 World Cup. So much for the bluster about form being a factor.”
Fellow journalist Pierre de Villiers observed: “This actually beggars belief – especially the Evan Roos snub. Feared this might happen after Nienaber gave him very lukewarm praise last year.”
This actually beggars belief – especially the Evan Roos snub. Feared this might happen after Nienaber gave him very lukewarm praise last year.
— Pierre de Villiers (@PDVjourno) April 8, 2022
South African sports writer Dylan Jack urged patience on the part of the young back rower: “Patience is required over Evan Roos. There is one more alignment camp next month and just being invited to the camp by no means guarantees selection. The young man’s time will come. Awesome to see Elrigh Louw’s form rewarded.”
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Patience is required over Evan Roos. There is one more alignment camp next month and just being invited to the camp by no means guarantees selection. The young man's time will come.
Awesome to see Elrigh Louw's form rewarded.— Dylan Jack (@dylmjack) April 8, 2022
The fear now is that Roos might be tempted to look abroad for further opportunities and there’s a precedent. France second row Paul Willemse left SA when he failed to make an 80-man alignment squad in 2015.
This year there will also be alignment camps for overseas-based players in England and France, as well as virtual meetings, all of which will take place later this month.
With the Springboks’ first Test against Wales less than three months away, Nienaber believes the alignment camps are critical in getting the players in the correct mindset as they prepare for a crucial season that includes the Rugby World Cup in France next year.
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“We are excited to get our season underway and these alignment camps are vital as we have not played for several months,” said Nienaber
“These sessions will ensure that we are all on the same page on and off the field when we begin our official training sessions. Most of these activities will involve boardroom sessions where we set objectives and align in terms of our planning.
“We will host similar camps with our overseas-based players in the next few weeks, but the door is not shut for other players to be invited to the remaining camps.
“It is also important to emphasise that being invited to these camps by no means is a guarantee of selection for the Castle Lager Incoming Tour squad, but rather an opportunity for the players to start switching into the mind-set required for the international season.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
7 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
7 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
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