Heyneke Meyer will chose a young squad for the tests against England – Rugby News Update
Heyneke Meyer, the current South African head coach, is considered as one of the most successful in the modern era, possessing a Midas touch and transforming the fortune of teams.
In his current role as the head coach of the Springboks, he is facing a conundrum. Having taken over the role at the start of 2012, he faces a visiting England team for a three-match test series starting in June, but many of first choice players are injured,
which might force him to pick a squad that has youth on his side but little experience.
He was circumspect when facing the media on Wednesday, saying, "I must say when I started the team that I thought probably would start, and I've said I would give everyone a fair chance, has changed a lot.”
Meyer’s captaincy candidate, Schalk Burger, is out after tearing his medial ligaments and it is likely that he will not recover in time for the first test, that starts on June 9, 2012. Fourie du Preez and Danie Rossouw are not being released by their Japanese
clubs, further forcing his hand to pick a youthful squad and to make matters worse; the decision of Jaque Fourie to quit international rugby for the next two years has come as a further blow.
Commenting on the lack of players available to him, Meyer’s said, "Like I said, I thought it would be an experienced side just to get us going and get the continuity because the guys know a lot of the stuff and lead the youngsters. But it's changed a lot
and I think we'll go for a younger team than I expected to go with."
He did lay the plan for the visit of the English team and he said that there will be more injuries in the future, while highlighting that a team needs a minimum of five good leaders and three of those players should be able to step up to lead the side.
Meyer still has not announced a captain and on that he said, "I am actually quite happy that I didn't announce the captain because I probably would have been in trouble.”
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