South African Rugby Union announces 27-man squad for 2011 Tri Nations Tournament
South African Rugby Union (SARU) has announced their 27-man squad, to take part in the 2011 Tri Nations tournament. SARU released the revised names of the second-choice players’ squad on Friday, July 8, after key player were added to the injury list.
A couple of weeks back, Springboks head Coach Peter de Villiers and team doctor, Craig Roberts, announced that 21 of their players will not participate in the Springboks’ away matches in the Tri-Nations. The news raised concern amongst the participating
teams as they termed it a strategic move employed by SARU. Most saw this as similar to the tactics used by SARU in 2007 to rest key players ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Springboks’ World Cup winning captain, John Smit, has been named skipper of the team for their 2011 Tri-Nations campaign. Peter de Villiers has also congratulated the new players named in the squad and termed their inclusion a reward for their hard work,
preparations and exceptional performance during the 2011 Super Rugby tournament.
Peter de Villiers has also raised concerns about the alarming number of injuries to his key players but expressed hope that the squad announced is capable of delivering good results.
The 27 – man squad announced for the away leg matches of the 2011 Tri Nations tournament includes:
Backs: Gio Aplon, Bjorn Basson, Juan de Jongh, Adrian Jacobs, Elton Jantjies, Patrick Lambie, Charl McLeod, Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane, Wynand Olivier, Ruan Pienaar, Morne Steyn.
Forwards: Heinrich Brüssow, Jean Deysel, Dean Greyling, Alistair Hargreaves, Ryan Kankowski, Werner Kruger, Ashley Johnson, Johan Muller, Coenie Oosthuizen, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Danie Rossouw, John Smit, Deon Stegmann, Adriaan Strauss, Flip
van der Merwe.
The players not named in the squad due to their respective injuries includes the Duane Vermeulen (knee), Fourie du Preez (knee), Schalk Burger (thumb), Victor Matfield (calf and neck), Bismarck du Plessis (shoulder), Andries Bekker (shoulder, groin and ankle),
Jannie du Plessis (knee), Francois Louw (clavicle), Frans Steyn (ankle and back), Jaque Fourie (groin), Jean de Villiers (groin), BJ Botha (knee), Juan Smith (Achilles), Willem Alberts (shoulder), Gurthrö Steenkamp (forearm), Francois Hougaard (ankle), Butch
James (knee), JP Pietersen (back), Tendai Mtawarira (hamstring), Bryan Habana (shoulder), and Bakkies Botha (knee).
All Blacks and Wallabies are expected to name their squad at the end of the 2011 Super Rugby Championships.
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