No passengers in Meyer's Bok team
Media outlets and fickle fans who suggests the rookies in the Springbok team will only hold tackle bags, could not be further from the truth if they tried.
South African coach Heyneke Meyer, speaking at a media briefing after his team gathered in Johannesburg for the start of the four-match year-end tour, said there will be no passengers in the 36-man squad.
"Coaches [say they] never read the newspapers, but every now and then I take a small peak," the jovial Bok mentor quipped.
"I have seen people write they are just going to hold [tackle] bags and stuff, asking what is the use of taking them," he said of the newcomers named in the team this week – which include Robbie Coetzee (Golden Lions), Julian Redelinghuys (Golden Lions), Nizaam Carr (Western Province), Jaco Kriel (Golden Lions) and Seabelo Senatla (Western Province).
"It is disrespectful to them," Meyer said in a more stern tone, adding: "They have worked really hard just to be in the environment.
"Being with the Springboks is an unbelievable learning curve for guys.
"For them [the newcomers] it is a dream come true."
Meyer made it clear it will NOT be a case of them just holding tackle bags.
"It was the same with Oupa [Teboho Mohojé] when I invited him to the first training camp," he said, adding: "When he played Varsity Cup I saw something in him. Now he is a starter [for the Bok team]."
Meyer said the difficulty is that if he doesn't work with players on a personal level, he ends up making assumptions about what their attributes are.
"To me those are all highly-rated players – a lot of them are youngsters coming through.
"Firstly, it is important to get them involved in the Springbok culture and, secondly, we are thin in certain positions."
He used New Zealand as an example, with Stephen Donald having been the fourth-choice flyhalf and then ended up winning the World Cup for them after a string of injuries.
"You can't expect those guys to play from the outset, because they don't know the gameplan," Meyer said, adding: "You have to work with them.
"If they are good enough to put up their hands, like Oupa [Mohoje], Trevor [Nyakane] and other guys have shown, they will come through.
"Handré [Pollard] was with us for four weeks. I wanted to bring him on earlier [in June], but he was with South Africa Under-20 team. You can now see how he has developed.
"They [the newcomers] will definitely develop. Those guys are good enough to start and this gives me an opportunity to work with them and see how they play at a higher level.
"You can see that in training, how they compete with the other guys and how they train.
"It is a great opportunity for them and for us. I am grateful that I can take them and they are very happy.
"There's no reason why those guys won't play, especially at hooker and tighthead, where we are very thin at the moment.
"[Take] a guy like Jaco Kriel. We do have great openside flanks, but I feel he can add value.
"I am excited to see these players play and there is a good chance they will get game time."
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