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Seven omissions from the Springboks' 41-man training squad
Professional rugby can be a tough enviroment at times – just ask this lot. We look at seven players that missed out on Jacques Nienaber’s 41-man Springbok training squad ahead of the Rugby Championship.
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Ivan van Zyl
He hasn’t been in the Springbok reckoning for the guts of five years but his form in the Gallagher Premiership suggests might have felt like he had a chance of knocking on the Test once again. The truth is the Springboks have insane depth at scrumhalf, with Faf de Klerk, Jaden Hendrikse, Herschel Jantjies, Cobus Reinach and Grant Williams all making the cut ahead of him.
Elton Jantjies
His own worst enemy, Elton Jantjies has unsurprisingly failed to secure a spot in the coveted 41-man squad. His exclusion suggests that his chances of featuring in the 33-man Rugby World Cup squad are dwindling. With Handre Pollard, Damian Willemse and the in-form Manie Libbok all preferred ahead of him, Jantjies chances of regaining his place at this stage look bleak. His off-field antics and stormy private life certainly haven’t helped, but the brute fact is he’s never convinced Bok management that he has what it takes at Test level.
Warrick Gelant
The omission of Warrick Gelant from the Springbok training squad is a blow to the talented fullback’s aspirations, but hardly a surprise. Despite being known for his attacking flair and ability to create scoring opportunities, the Racing 92 man’s absence leaves him very much on the fringes of the national team. The truth is Gelant hasn’t been pulling up trees for the Parisian side this season, and he simply hasn’t done enough to warrant being picked ahead of any of the five outside backs that are currently ahead of him.
Elrigh Louw
Elrigh Louw, a promising loose forward, has fallen short in the fierce competition for a place in the Springbok training squad. Despite his potential and versatility, with the Boks’ formidable loose forward lineup comprising of the likes of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen, and injury-doubt Siya Kolisi, Louw always faced an uphill battle to break into the squad. However, injuries to players ahead of him may open a door for his inclusion.
Marcell Coetzee
Personal injury and the mixed form of the Bulls have cost Coetzee a chance of making the squad and he looks like a real outside bet to feature for the Springboks ever again. In a national squad brimming with size, power and athleticism, Coetzee may simply be viewed as more of the same, even if he’s still one of the most formidable loose forwards in the game when fit.
Hacjivah Dayimani
Dayimani might be the most hard-done by player on this list, not least given Siya Kolisi looks unlikely to recover in time for France. Known for his explosive speed and agility, Dayimani has failed to secure a place despite standout performances this season for the Stormers in the URC. With the likes of Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, and Jasper Wiese making the cut, Dayimani will need to bide his time and wait for an opening.
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Frans Steyn
Frans Steyn – the seasoned veteran who can cover standoff, centre and fullback – finds himself on the outside looking in due to unfortunate circumstances. A knee injury has prevented him from making the training squad. Steyn’s experience and versatility, suggest that if he does recover in time, the Cheetahs veteran has a good chance of being the first off the rank if the Boks suffer injuries in the backline. It’s a big if though.
The exclusion of Jantjies, Gelant, Du Preez, Coetzee, Louw, Dayimani, and the injury-related absence of Frans Steyn from the Springbok training squad indicates that their chances of featuring in the Rugby World Cup squad are now pretty remote. However, in the unpredictable and brutal world of rugby union, injuries can create opportunities, opening the door for these players to potentially make a return.
Props: Thomas du Toit (Cell C Sharks), Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers), Vincent Koch (Stade Francais), Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks), Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92).
Hookers: Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks).
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Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks), Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers), RG Snyman (Munster), Jean Kleyn (Munster) (pending)
Loose Forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Siya Kolisi (Cell C Sharks), Evan Roos (DHL Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Duane Vermeulen (Ulster), Jasper Wiese (Leicester).
Utility Forwards: Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks), Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat).
Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks), Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks).
Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers), Handre Pollard (Leicester), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).
Centres: Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).
Outside Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Cheslin Kolbe (Toulon), Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz), Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls).
Comments on RugbyPass
The URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to comments