Tank Lanning
Just three more chances this year to get into the draw to win a magnificent trip to Argentina to support the Boks next year with me and four of your closest mates – thanks to Energade … That is if you correctly predict the exact Bok side Heyneke Meyer will pick later this afternoon! Ice cold beer, massive steaks, good looking babes, and Bok rugby … Better than a Rebels vs Force snoreathon I would say … Details below …
Not being in the UK to cover the tour, I will have my usual stab at the side I think Meyer will pick based on the utterings of others, together with the side I would pick to take on the Irish in Dublin on Saturday …
First up, the current Springbok squad in the UK:
Willem Alberts, Arno Botha, Schalk Brits, Pat Cilliers, Marcell Coetzee, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (c), Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Francois Hougaard, Elton Jantjies, Zane Kirchner, Juandré Kruger, Pat Lambie, Francois Louw, Lionel Mapoe, Beast Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Raymond Rhule, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Jaco Taute, CJ van der Linde, Flip van der Merwe, Franco van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen.
The 23 I think Heyneke Meyer will pick to play Ireland on Saturday:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Bench: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18, Gurthro Steenkamp, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Juan de Jongh, 23 Lwazi Mvovo
And this is the side I would select:
15 Jaco Taute, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Bench: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18, Gurthro Steenkamp, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Raymond Rhule
Reasoning:
How awesome is it going to be to see the 2012 Players Player of the Year, JP Pietersen back in a Bok jersey? And if his form in the Currie Cup is anything to go by, he is as sharp as ever after coming back from injury. His return will go a long way to offsetting the loss of Player of the Year, Bryan Habana, who has been magnificent this year. So that is one enforced change I see Heyneke Meyer making.
The other is at flyhalf, where it looks like the coach might have eventually seen the light that the rest of the country has been blinded by for some time, that being Pat Lambie, who looks set to replace the injured Johan Goosen. Meyer’s obsession with Zane Kirchner seems set to continue, though, which means Jaco Taute will remain at outside centre, with the form shown by Juan de Jongh at Currie Cup level not being enough to move the coach
As implied, I would play Juan de Jongh outside the skipper – for his feet on attack, and given that they formed the defensively deadly centre pairing for the Stormers this year. And I would have Taute ahead of Kirchner with a view to actually playing some rugby. My other tweak to Meyer’s side would see Lwazi Mvovo on the wing in a move to playing specialists in their positions and giving the bench some proper firepower in the form of Francois Hougaard, who has yet to fire in the run on side.
And for the first time ever we will see an 8 man Springbok bench, the new laws stating that you have to have a full front row on the bench. This will see props once again specialising at either loosehead or tighthead, and for that reason, Meyer should go for Pat Cilliers and Gurthro Steenkamp, but there is doubt over the latter’s fitness, so journeyman CJ van der Linde might get another cap.
How To WIN the trip to watch the Boks play in Argentina next year …
Head to the Energade Bok Barometer – http://www.supersport.com/rugby/bokbarometer
Select your Springbok XV by clicking on the jersey in each position, and picking a player from those provided in the drop down … Hit the Save button once your team is finalised, and you are in the draw!
You can update your team as often as you like but entries for each game will be locked before the announcement of the Springbok team each week. You are then able to select your team for the next match.
All those that select the exact Springbok team – including jersey numbers – that takes to the field for just one of the Bok games this year will go into a draw, with weekly winners announced every Monday after a Bok match.
Each match winner will receive R5 000 and a personalised Springbok jersey signed by their favourite Springbok. The grand prize will see the winner and 4 mates join Tank in Argentina next year to watch the Boks play their Rugby Championship match, courtesy of Energade.
The weekly winners thus far:
Winner 1: Ashley Groenewald drawn out of a pot of 989 correct entries.
Winner 2: Johan Weideman drawn out of a pot of 1 238 correct entries.
Winner 3: Rowan Nefdt drawn out of a pot of 711 correct entries.
Winner 4: Michael Openshaw drawn out of a pot of 157 correct entries.
Winner 5: Brian Norton drawn out of a pot of 12 correct entries
Winner 6: Luway Mongie drawn out of a pot of 16 correct entries
Winner 7: Johan van Eyk drawn out of a pot of 4 correct entries
Winner 8: Kyle John Leigh the only player to get it correct.
Winner 9: Jonathan Bishop drawn out of a pot of 112 correct entries.
