Fourie stays in Bok wilderness
The saga of Jaque Fourie's availability for the Springboks seems to be over with Heyneke Meyer admitting that he will probably not be required going forward.
The experienced outside centre initially called time on his Test career when he left to play in Japan after the 2011 World Cup, but has remained on Meyer's radar ever since then.
After two years without a Test cap Fourie featured for the Springboks on the year-end tour of Europe in 2013 but has not played for Meyer's team since.
He was called up to the squad in 2014 but did not feature, and at the end of last year he announced his retirement from international rugby for the second time.
Despite this Meyer managed to convince him to come out of the wilderness yet again, and he joined up with the squad in the lead-up to the Rugby Championship before being released to work on his fitness back in Japan.
Since then Jesse Kriel has emerged as a bolter at outside centre, scoring against the Wallabies and the All Blacks in his first two Test matches.
On top of this Meyer also has at his disposal the likes of Jean de Villiers, Damian de Allende, Jan Serfontein and JP Pietersen who have all played in the No.13 jersey in the last few years.
When asked about Fourie's potential future involvement with the Boks Meyer said that while he remains an option for the World Cup, his services will probably not be required considering the number of players who are capable of playing at outside centre.
"Jaque will probably not be available, he is on standby. We do want to pick him, but at this stage with the club and his commitment there I think Jesse [Kriel] has come through brilliantly, it was a big call and he came through.
"I had a good chat with Jaque again and he is available if we are in trouble, but I think Jesse has come through, Damian [De Allende] can play 13 although I still think his best position is 12, Jean [De Villiers] can play 13 and we have still got Jan [Serfontein] who has been awesome last year. JP [Pietersen] can play 13 and a guy like Cornal [Hendricks] as well, so although he [Fourie] is available he probably won't be selected," he said.
By Michael de Vries, in Durban
