Meyer defends controversial selection
Comments
0
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer jumped to the defence of his squad for the Test series against England after a number of his choices raised eyebrows.
Many of Meyer's selections were expected as he has stuck with the tried and trusted for the large part, but there were several notable omissions that include Heinrich Brussow, Siya Kolisi, Juan de Jongh and Gio Aplon.
The Stormers cemented their place at the top of the SA conference in the Super Rugby by defeating the Bulls 19-14 in Pretoria, while only three players from the Cape Town side have been selected for the Boks. The Bulls on the other hand have no fewer than 13 representatives in the 32-man squad.
"I don't count which guys are in which teams. I just pick the guys I believe are the best," Meyer told the media.
"There are a lot of their great players injured, like Duane Vermeulen, who is a great player, Schalk Burger and Andries Bekker, who are also not around.
"If I pick a team I need to pick the team that I believe is the right one."
Meyer was quick to praise the brutal match between the Bulls and Stormers, which was played at a ferocious Test-match intensity.
"I think it was great spectacle in typical Test match rugby [style] and that is how I want the Boks to play," Meyer said.
"Obviously you want to score tries and get the people on their feet, but for me it is all about playing tactically well and playing winning rugby.
"England are a tough team and they've been together for quite some time so it's not going to be easy.
"We need to play a type of rugby typical to South African strengths."
ADVERTISEMENT
