Final Bok camp packed with Stormers
The final Springbok Planning Camp starts in Cape Town on Tuesday and Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, after consulting with the national selectors, has invited 31 players to the camp.
All of the invited players are part of the Stormers wider group. The camp starts on Tuesday and will run until Thursday.
“We know that a number of these players will feature for Western Province in the Vodacom Cup quarterfinals next weekend, but we would like to work with them at some stage during next week. When they are needed for provincial duty they will, of course, attend those sessions,” said Meyer.
“The value of these camps can’t be underestimated. During the first two camps in Pretoria we not only had the opportunity to go through all our plays and game plans with the players, but we also had one-on-one talks with every single player in attendance and also assessed them medically.
“The wealth of information we’ve built up on the best players in South Africa is invaluable. At the end of next week, we would’ve worked with more than 100 players and although only 22 can feature in the first Test against England, all of them know where they stand in the national set-up.”
Meyer added that next week’s camp will also allow the Springbok medical staff to assess serious injuries to a number of the Stormers’ senior players.
“We know that guys like Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers, Andries Bekker, Duane Vermeulen and Gio Aplon, to name but a few, have been struggling with injuries and there has been a lot of speculation about the seriousness of these injuries, but after next week we’ll have a better idea of where they are in terms of fitness levels,” said Meyer.
Depending on the results of the various Vodacom Cup games this coming weekend, in the final round of league action, players from these teams may also be invited to the Cape Town camp.
“We don’t want to disrupt any of the teams as they prepare for their play-off matches, but there were some players we’ve seen that we’d like to work with,” said Meyer.
“This includes players selected for the South African Under-20 team that might be involved in the Vodacom Cup play-offs whom we would like to assess.”
Stormers invited to the final Planning Camp:
Forwards: Andries Bekker, Brok Harris, De Kock Steenkamp, Deon Carstens, Deon Fourie, Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Nick Koster, Nizaam Carr, Quinn Roux, Rynhardt Elstadt, Schalk Burger, Siya Kolisi, Steven Kitshoff, Tiaan Liebenberg, Wicus Blaauw.
Backs: Burton Francis, Bryan Habana, Danie Poolman, Dewaldt Duvenhage, Gary van Aswegen, Gerhard van den Heever, Gio Aplon, Jean de Villiers, Joe Pietersen, Juan de Jongh, Louis Schreuder, Marcel Brache, Nic Groom, Peter Grant.
