By Brenden Nel.
@GalloImages.
Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi was ruled out and uncapped Canan Moodie included in a 34-man squad that will leave on Thursday for the Australian leg of the Castle Lager Rugby championship.
The squad, announced on Monday, comes after the Springboks lost their second match against the All Blacks at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday and now will look to win in Australia for the first time since 2013 if they are to have a chance of securing the Rugby Championship this year.
Mbonambi’s knee injury is more serious than thought and means he will be ruled out for four weeks, with Joseph Dweba and Malcolm Marx the only two hookers in the squad. Loose forward Deon Fourie, who earned his first cap for the Springboks in the second test against Wales in Bloemfontein at the age of 35, is the back-up hooker in the group and will double up at loose forward if needed.
While the inclusion of the 19-year old Moodie was expected as Aphelele Fassi was dropped from the squad last month and with Kurt-Lee Arendse suspended and Cheslin Kolbe nursing a broken jaw, there aren’t too many options for the Springboks on the wing at the moment.
Jesse Kriel will travel with the side despite leaving the field early with concussion and the talking points will be around more who was left out of the touring squad, than who was included, especially as coach Jacques Nienaber has indicated he will be making changes and giving the extended squad members a run in the two tests.
The one omission is the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Player of the series Evan Roos, who has been left out of the squad and will come as a surprise to many. But with the Boks using Jasper Wiese as the back-up to Duane Vermeulen, Roos missed out as the third number eight in the group.
Also missing out was props Thomas du Toit and Nthuthuko Mchuno, locks Ruan Nortje and Marvin Orie, Utility forward Rynhard Elstadt and scrumhalf Grant Williams.
Montpellier scrumhalf Cobus Reinach returns to the side and is likely to only be considered for the second test in Sydney on 3 September.
Nienaber said he would make changes to the squad for the two Tests against Argentina in Buenos Aires and Durban as he looks to give his expanded group of players a chance to prove themselves with an eye on the Rugby World Cup which will be hosted in France next year.
“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.”
Damian Willemse will serve as cover for flyhalf, fullback and centre and Nienaber said Fourie has been looked at as a back-up hooker for some time now.
“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.”
The Springboks are currently on a short break and will depart on Thursday for the tour to Australia and Argentina.
“We are bitterly disappointed about the defeat against New Zealand last weekend, and we know that we have to be at our best to fight back in the next four matches of the competition to keep us in contention to win the tournament,” said Nienaber.
“We saw what Australia are capable at home last year and we know that we will be tested thoroughly.
“The last time we beat the Wallabies in Australia was in 2013, so we have a big mountain to climb over there, but that said, we have looked at our game against New Zealand and we know what areas we need to improve on, and we will put in the hard work on the field to iron out those aspects when we arrive in 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.”
Springbok touring squad:
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).