Nine uncapped players, six of whom have not been part of the national set-up before, have been included in a 34-man Springbok squad for the Quadrangular involving Italy, Samoa and Scotland later this month.
The six newcomers are Lourens Adriaanse, who has suddenly jumped ahead of Wiehan Herbst, Willie le Roux, Trevor Nyakane, Pieter “Lappies” Labuschagne, Jan Serfontein and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The three other uncapped players in the squad are Siya Kolisi, Arno Botha and Jano Vermaak. Two players who only featured in one Test in 2012, Gio Aplon and JJ Engelbrecht, are recalled following very good performances this year.
Jean de Villiers, the most experienced member of the squad with 84 Test caps retains the captaincy.
Players who were part of Springbok squads in 2012, but were not considered for selection due to injury, are JP Pietersen, Jaco Taute, Frans Steyn, Johan Goosen, Duane Vermeulen, Pat Cilliers and Frans Malherbe.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said the inclusion of the six newcomers was just reward for good performances in Super Rugby this season. He also said he was happy to keep the core of the squad that did duty for South Africa in 2012.
“The Tests in June will be tough and we’ve been hit by a number of injuries, but I’m very happy with the squad we’ve selected,” said Meyer.
“It’s never easy selecting a squad such as this one, as there are always players who are unlucky to miss out, but there will always be an opportunity to reclaim your place, as Gio and JJ had shown this season.
“Despite not playing for one of the five big unions, Lourens and Willie have grabbed their opportunities when they got a chance to play Super Rugby, while two of their team mates at the Cheetahs, Trevor and Lappies, have also done very well this year.
“It was also good to see Jan and Pieter-Steph make the step up from the junior levels. I’ve always rated them and they’ve shone this year for the Bulls and The Sharks.
The Springbok squad will assemble in Durban on Sunday. The first Test is next Saturday at Kings Park against Italy.
The Springbok squad:
Lourens Adriaanse
Willem Alberts
Gio Aplon
Bjorn Basson
Arno Botha
Marcell Coetzee
Juan de Jongh
Jean de Villiers (captain)
Bismarck du Plessis
Jannie du Plessis
Pieter-Steph du Toit
JJ Engelbrecht
Eben Etzebeth
Bryan Habana
Francois Hougaard
Zane Kirchner
Siya Kolisi
Juandré Kruger
Pieter Labuschagne
Pat Lambie
Willie le Roux
Francois Louw
Tendai Mtawarira
Lwazi Mvovo
Trevor Nyakane
Coenie Oosthuizen
Ruan Pienaar
Chiliboy Ralepelle
Jan Serfontein
Pierre Spies
Morné Steyn
Adriaan Strauss
Flip van der Merwe
Jano Vermaak