RUGBY
Andy Capostagno
It would be nice if we could concentrate on the final round of Currie Cup Super Eight matches due to be played this weekend, what with six teams still in the hunt for the semifinals and all. Unfortunately, however, as the domestic rugby season draws to a close, foot-shooting season is upon us again.
On Sunday Springbok coach Harry Viljoen will host a getting-to-know-you-all-over-again party at King’s Park in Durban. Present will be either 34, 35 or 36 players hoping to make the cut for the end-of-season tour to Europe and the United States. The actual number depends on which of the several lists of names you care to believe.
To quote Dan Retief, writing for SuperRugby.co.za: ”Take the recent ‘announcement’ of a squad of 35 players … the list that appears on Sarfu’s own website consists of 34 players and includes scrumhalf Neil de Kock, while a list that has been circulated to the rugby writers of various newspapers consists of 36 players and includes Werner Swanepoel, Robbie Fleck and Kleinjan Tromp.
”Western Province scrumhalf De Kock is not in this latter group. It is claimed that the second list emanated from within the Springbok business unit.”
By Wednesday the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) website had 36 names, but later in the day Viljoen confirmed a total of 35, including De Kock and Fleck and excluding Swanepoel and Tromp. It is, of course, only a training squad. The final touring squad of 26 names will be announced after the Currie Cup semifinals next week. But it is a handy guide to who is in and who is out in the national coach’s thinking, and as ever there are some curious anomalies.
Just two flyhalves (Braam van Straaten and Louis Koen) have been selected. Neither was part of the 32-man squad selected by Viljoen on May 12 this year. His three flyhalves then were Butch James, Gaffie du Toit and Francois Swart.
James is unavailable through injury and suspension, the others have simply fallen out of favour, along with Japie Mulder, De Wet Barry, Rassie Erasmus, Etienne Fynn and Lawrence Sephaka. It is not a crime to change your mind, of course, but to change a third of the squad in the course of five months seems a little excessive, nonetheless.
There seems to have been a paradigm shift in Viljoen’s thinking since he took over the reins a year ago. In his first Test in charge, against Argentina, he played Percy Montgomery at flyhalf and banned the players from tactical kicking. Three Tests later Van Straaten was in the number 10 shirt in order to make sure the Springboks kicked their goals.
Van Straaten was deemed surplus to requirements in May and duly signed to play for Leeds. By the end of the Tri-Nations he was playing inside centre for the national side and rumour has it that he recently turned down the belated offer of a Sarfu contract on a point of principal.
Van Straaten, it should be noted, is not even playing flyhalf for Western Province any more. Gert Smal has moved him to inside centre to take the ball up and kick goals, with Chris Rossouw at flyhalf. You might remember that Rossouw was on last year’s Bok tour, along with the fine Province lock pair of Hottie Louw and Quinton Davids. None of them is in the latest squad.
Which should give some extra spice to Saturday’s encounter between Province and the Sharks in Durban. The Sharks need to win to earn a home semifinal, Province are unbeaten. Province went some way to fulfilling their potential in a nine-try romp against Free State last week and they can actually afford to lose and still top the log.
In the circumstances a Sharks win is the likely outcome, which leaves the Lions, Cheetahs, Falcons and Pumas fighting it out for the last two spots.
If the Pumas beat the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday night they can still qualify, although such a result would probably only allow the Falcons in through the back door, assuming they can beat Griquas at Kempton Park.
With their inferior points difference the Falcons need to run riot against Griquas and even then their destiny is in the hands of others.
If the Sharks lose, the Lions could grab a home semifinal by beating the Bulls at Ellis Park. The most likely semifinal draw is Province vs Cheetahs in Cape Town, and Sharks vs Lions in Durban.