Roos one of 8 omissions as Springboks name 34-man squad

Evan Roos is the headline omission from the Springboks’ 34-man squad that will tour Australia later this month.

The massively in-form Roos is a surprise omission, not least since he failed to feature against the All Blacks while veteran No.8 Duane Vermeulen was parachuted straight into the second Test.

Roos along with Thomas du Toit, Ruan Nortje, Marvin Orie, Bongi Mbonambi [injury], Rynhardt Elstadt, Grant Williams and Ntuthuko Mchunu have been shed from the squad that was named for the Rugby Championship.

The only addition is the uncapped Canan Moodie, who make the trip to Australia hoping to make his debut.

“We have been working with a large group of players for the last few months and we believe this will pay off in the long run as we look to expand our depth for the Rugby World Cup and beyond,” said Nienaber.

“Since we are going on tour, however, we will take a group of players that is more in line with the size of a Rugby World Cup squad, and our thought process is that we will have two groups of players – one who will participate in the Australian leg of the competition and another for the Argentina matches.

“This way we can manage the players as well as possible on tour, while at the same time ensuring we continue to develop our depth and give the players opportunities to prove themselves with a little over a year to go before the Rugby World Cup kicks off.”

With Bongi Mbonambi ruled out for four weeks after suffering a knee injury in a training ground incident, Deon Fourie will travel as back-up to Malcolm Marx and Joseph Dweba. Damian Willemse will provide cover at flyhalf, centre and fullback.

“Bongi has been ruled out for four weeks, but Deon, who is an experienced hooker and flank, has been practicing his lineout throws with us, so we are confident that he will be able to fill that void for us in these matches,” said Nienaber. “We are also excited to see how Canan slots in during the next few weeks and to see how he adapts to our structures and systems, and we believe he has the skills to slot in for Kurt-Lee and Cheslin.

“This is a settled group of players and includes a wide spread of experience and young players who have made their presence felt, and we believe that they have what it takes to guide us back on track in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in the matches against Australia.

“It is going to be a tough tour, but we know what our players are capable of, and we are determined to make our nation proud.”

South Africa will play two Tests against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday, August 27th and Sydney on Saturday, September 3rd.

SPRINGBOKS SQUAD FOR AUSTRALIA:

Props
Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers)
Vincent Koch (Wasps)
Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers)
Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks)
Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92)

Hookers
Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers)
Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)

Locks
Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks)
Lood de Jager (Wild Knights)
Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers)

Loose forwards
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
Siya Kolisi (Cell C Sharks)
Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls)
Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)
Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers)
Duane Vermeulen (Ulster)

Utility forwards
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)

Flyhalves
Elton Jantjies (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes)
Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)

Midfielders
Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks)
Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)
Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins)

Outside backs
Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks)
Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz)
Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
Warrick Gelant (Racing 92)

Utility Backs
Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)
Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles)
Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs)