Robbie Fleck plays RWC selector

sport365 columnist Robbie Fleck tries his hand as a national selector this week, with the 1999 World Cup Springbok revealing HIS 30-man Bok squad for the 2007 RWC in France later this year.

The 2007 Tri-Nations is over for us South Africans, even if there is an exciting 3N and Bledisloe Cup finale on the cards between New Zealand and Australia.

It matters little, however, our RWC preparations are already underway and Saturday’s Tri-Nations match in Auckland pales into insignificance when compared to the small matter of the Springbok World Cup squad announcement later in the day.

I’ve been in the situation before as a player, it’s a nerve-wracking time for all – but there is no better feeling than being given the call to represent your country in a World Cup…

Sadly, somebody will always have to miss out, which is a harsh experience for anybody, and a thankless job for any selector!!

It was quite easy to come up with most of my selections for this squad, but I deliberated over a few names and also the split between forwards and backs. Eventually, I settled on a 17-13 split in favour of the forwards (clearly, I’ve been hanging around Robbie Kempson for too long!), but I believe this squad, given the type of game I would like to play, would be very effective in France.

So, without further ado, here is MY 30-man squad for the 2007 RWC in France:

PROPS: Os du Randt (Free State), Gurthro Steenkamp (Blue Bulls), Heinke van der Merwe (Golden Lions), BJ Botha (Sharks), CJ van der Linde (Free State).

Os du Randt picks himself in my squad – you just have to have that kind of experience. Sure, he isn’t the player he once was, but he is still an effective ball-carrier and his defensive work is unmatched in this country – in one-on-one situations and because of his ability to stop the opposition’s momentum; in mauls and around the fringes.

Gurthro Steenkamp is a dynamic ball-carrier and he provides plenty of go-forward with ball in hand. He was brilliant in the Tests he played this year, before being injured, and we need his strength on the run.

On the tighthead side BJ Botha picks himself, too. I find the Aussie and Kiwi criticism of him very odd, nobody else seems to have any troubles with his scrumming technique – are they maybe scared of him? CJ van der Linde is not as strong as BJ in the scrums, but he brings some more mobility to the front row and he can also prop on both sides.

My ‘shock’ selection here is the addition of a fifth prop. Props are very, very important in the game of rugby and I believe Os needs two competent back-ups, hence the selection of Lions youngster Heinke van der Merwe alongside Gurthro.

Van der Merwe demolished all the props he came up against during the Super 14 and the scary thing is that he is just 22 years old! He represents the future of South African rugby and a World Cup campaign at his age could only do him some good – especially with Os set to retire afterwards. Jannie du Plessis did well Down Under, but I want an extra specialist loosehead prop and BJ and CJ are just ahead of him in the queue for now.

HOOKERS: John Smit (Sharks, captain), Gary Botha (Blue Bulls), Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks).

John Smit’s ball-carrying abilities, scrumming power and throwing in make him an automatic selection as the first of my three hookers – and I have not even mentioned his captaincy yet. His leadership, as we all know, is crucial; it’s just a shame that it took his injury to make everybody out there finally appreciate him.

I have opted for three hookers and John’s deputies Gary Botha and Bismarck du Plessis both proved in Australasia that they can mix it with the best.

Gary toured strongly, especially after his two iffish performances at home against the Wallabies and the All Blacks, whilst Bismarck was huge Down Under. Bismarck is a big, strong lad and aside from his botched off-load (to Breyton) against Australia he hardly put a foot wrong.

LOCKS: Victor Matfield (Blue Bulls), Bakkies Botha (Blue Bulls), Johann Muller (Sharks).

I would take only three locks with me to France and, again, they choose themselves. Victor is the best lock in world rugby, Bakkies is the second best and as a combination they are the best there is.

Victor brings an amazing line-out package to the party, as well as leadership, whilst Bakkies possesses an incredible level of physicality that could see him emerge as our key man at the World Cup. He has not been at his best this year, but when he returns to full fitness watch him go!

Johann Muller was outstanding Down Under, captaining the team well against the All Blacks, and not standing back to anybody. He is not as physical as Bakkies and he lacks the finesse of Victor, but he is young as far as locks go (27); he has time on his side.

In my mind, Albert van den Berg has had his chances and there is no reason why he should be picked. He is a liability on defence and his crucial penalty at the weekend showed that even his experience is not worth having around. If I were to pick a fourth lock I would go with Johan Ackermann, whose strength and physicality would be a bonus in Europe.

Danie Rossouw, however, would fill my fourth locking berth, but more of him later.

LOOSE FORWARDS: Schalk Burger (Western Province), Juan Smith (Free State), Pierre Spies (Blue Bulls), Bob Skinstad (Sharks), Wikus van Heerden (Blue Bulls), Danie Rossouw (Blue Bulls).

At flank, Schalk Burger and Juan Smith would be my first names down on any Bok team-sheet. End of. I would love to see Bob Skinstad feature on the blindside, but I know he prefers No.8, and Jake also prefers him at the back of the scrum.

Bob, Pierre Spies and Danie Rossouw will compete for the No.8 shirt, which is no mean trio. Bob, as we all know, has had a superb season, but he also brings more leadership to the party. Spies is probably our best ball-carrying forward and like Steenkamp he adds a different dimension to any pack of forwards because of that – we missed him Down Under. Danie Rossouw, as I mentioned above, adds utility value to the pack, but he is also a starting option at No.8 after his success there on last year’s tour of Europe.

The final loose forward spot is a contentious one, but I have plumped for Wikus van Heerden – probably the most underrated rugby player in this country. I thought he was colossal Down Under, he is the perfect back-up to Schalk in the No.6 shirt and he is there solely on his rugby-playing abilities alone. If he were to miss out on Saturday it would be a massive travesty.

SCRUM-HALVES: Fourie du Preez (Blue Bulls), Ruan Pienaar (Sharks), Ricky Januarie (Golden Lions).

Like hooker, you have to choose three scrum-halves and the trio I have selected are a quality bunch.

Fourie du Preez is the best No.9 in the country – some would say the world – and even though he hasn’t played much lately, his experience, kicking game and defensive work would put him in pole position in my side.

The Bulls pack gave Fourie a comfortable ride throughout the Super 14, but at the same time, I thought Ruan Pienaar showed his class during the Tri-Nations when he finally got a chance to start for his country. Ruan was outstanding and he offers an extra dynamic option on attack, one which we should utilise off the bench. Brendon Leonard showed the worth of an attacking scrum-half coming off the bench in the second half and Pienaar could fill just that role once Fourie has softened the opposition up in the first 50/60 minutes.

Ricky Januarie would be my third-choice scrum-half and he brings something completely different to the party. He is a terrier-like player and he has done the job against the likes of Dan Carter and Stephen Larkham before, hassling them and pressurising them into mistakes. His service and kicking game is not quite as sharp as Fourie and Pienaar’s, but adds a physical defensive edge around the fringes, something that the others don’t have.

FLY-HALVES: Butch James (Sharks), Peter Grant (Western Province).

Butchie is the No.1 fly-half in South Africa and he proved that during the Super 14, against England and in the home leg of the Tri-Nations. He knows the conditions abroad, he has been around since 2001, he has superb hands and his kicking game has improved, too. Most importantly, however, Butchie brings another physical edge to the party – he defends his channel and the opposition will think twice about taking a chance down the 10-12 area.

Who to back him up then? Well, this is a problem area.

Francois Steyn can do the job there; he has shown it at Super 14 and Test level (that blow-out against the All Blacks aside), but I would like Francois to cover inside centre and full-back in my squad.

Derick Hougaard is not the answer, he played himself out of contention Down Under, and waiting on André Pretorius’s fitness would be a huge mistake. André did not have a good Super 14 and he remains a liability on defence – the opposition will target him all day long. I know he provides a left/right-footed kicking option, but he is liability as far as I am concerned.

My second fly-half berth would go to Peter Grant, who showed nice touches in his two appearances against the Wallabies and the All Blacks, but also because he is the type of No.10 that can take our game forward, ala Henry Honiball. He also provides a more than useful option at inside centre as Jean de Villiers’s back-up, having done the job there for SA U21, WP and the Stormers.

CENTRES: Jean de Villiers (Western Province), Jaque Fourie (Golden Lions), Waylon Murray (Sharks).

At centre I have chosen just three players, one specialist inside centre and two out-and-out outside centres. As a combination, and as individuals, Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie pick themselves. Sure, they haven’t quite fired on all cylinders this year, but the stage is set for them to fire at the World Cup.

My third centre option is Waylon Murray, another one of the young brigade to impress this year in his three starts. He didn’t have a lot of opportunities with ball in hand – that is another issue altogether! – but he showed glimpses on attack and he made his tackles, too. He has a fantastic rugby brain and deserves to go ahead of Wynand Olivier.

With Peter Grant and Francois Steyn extra inside centre options, I have no space for Olivier in my squad. Wynand, like Derick Hougaard, disappointed on tour. Sure, he made 20-odd tackles in a game, but he missed some big ones and offered little on attack. Wynand is a good player, but on current form Murray is my bet for the third spot.

Also, with no Olivier in the squad and with the need to protect key men like Butch and Jean, that would mean starting with a 10-12-13 axis of Grant, Steyn and Murray against SA’s weaker Pool A opponents, Tonga and the USA. Grant and Steyn as a fly-half/inside centre duo is the same as New Zealand playing Daniel Carter next to one of Aaron Mauger or Luke McAlister – giving extra kicking and distribution options. Murray would be in his element with players like that on his inside.

Murray has played a lot of his representative rugby throughout the years alongside Sharks team-mate Brad Barritt – who I believe was the best South African inside centre during the Super 14 – and it would have made sense to blood the two together at international level. Barritt should have been in the Bok mix from the start of the year; it wouldn’t be possible to suddenly put him into the team and take him to the World Cup. It’s a pity, but his time will come – he is still young enough.

WINGS: Bryan Habana (Blue Bulls), Ashwin Willemse (Golden Lions), JP Pietersen (Sharks).

Bryan Habana is the most dangerous back in South Africa and the best winger in world rugby today – his name on anybody’s team sheet is a mere formality. (His pace was sorely missed throughout the Tri-Nations.)

Aside from Habana, however, our wing cupboard is pretty bare.

Ashwin Willemse was one of the best wingers in world rugby back in 2003, but injuries have hampered him since then, which is a pity. He is hard as nails and determined; I would have loved to have played alongside him. But Ashwin deserves his chance to go to the World Cup; defensively he is very strong and he is very fit and dedicated. His kicking game needs work, but that will come with more game time.

JP Pietersen has proved this season that he is capable of playing Test rugby. Like Willemse, his kicking game needs work, but he is not as assured under the high ball or on defence, although he made some good tackles against the All Blacks – a game that he started at full-back.

Unfortunately, there was no place for a fourth winger in my squad, which would have been a toss-up between Breyton Paulse and Akona Ndungane; with the latter my preferred choice. Breyton has had his time in the sun. Sure, he did well on tour, but he has lost what he had two or three years ago. Ndungane, on the other hand, is still young enough to make it to the next World Cup – along with Habana, Willemse and Pietersen – so his time will come.

Pietersen could find himself playing off the bench in the bigger Pool A games (against Samoa and England) and starting against the likes of Tonga and the USA, with Murray and Francois Steyn (and perhaps even Ruan Pienaar, at a push) providing extra wing cover in an emergency.

FULL-BACKS: Percy Montgomery (Sharks), Francois Steyn (Sharks).

Percy is the undoubted first-choice selection at full-back. He adds tons of much-needed experience to the backline and back three, in particular, and his tally of Test caps and Test points speak for themselves. Monty is probably the best defensive full-back in the world and along with John, Victor, Schalk and Bryan he is one of the key men in the Bok line-up.

Francois Steyn is my backline version of Danie Rossouw, given his utility value. He has played a lot of his Test rugby at full-back – and the wing – but I like the option he gives the team at inside centre. He is very much in the Luke McAlister mode as a second five-eighth, with his boot and brute force just what is needed on attack and defence.

A guy like Steyn – along with Rossouw – could find himself involved in every match at the World Cup, whether it is off the bench or as a starter.

Right, there you have it, that is my Bok squad for the 2007 World Cup.

I am pretty sure Jake’s – and SARU’s… – final squad will differ from my selection, but the purpose of this column was to give you my opinion and my best 30 players; no matter what colour the player is, what background he has or which Province he represents or has represented. It should be an interesting weekend for some…

Chat next week,
Robbie Fleck

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