Lock Bakkies Botha will get a quick-fire return to the Welsh capitol after his recent beating by Cardiff Blues with Toulon, while Japanese-based threequarters Jaque Fourie and JP Pietersen have also been included in the 32-man squad.
It will be Botha and Fourie’s first involvement with the Springboks since the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, while Pietersen is back in the squad for the first time this year.
Botha is one of seven players in the squad who currently ply their trade in Europe. Toulon team mate Bryan Habana is one of three other Top 14 stars, including Toulouse’ Guthro Steenkamp and Stade Francais Paris’ Morne Steyn, while Bath’s Francois Louw, Leinster’s Zane Kirchner and Ulster’s Ruan Pienaar are also in the squad.
As well as adding the experienced trio, head coach Heyneke Meyer has also called-up four uncapped players for a tour that will see the Boks play Wales, Scotland and France.
Siyabonga ‘Scarra’ Ntubeni, a 22-year-old hooker, gets his first involvement in a South African squad, while the three other uncapped players, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Louis Schreuder, have been part of the national squad previously.
Injuries to Arno Botha, Pierre Spies, Francois Hougaard and Jaco Taute meant they were not considered for selection. Gio Aplon, who was part of the squad in June, and Johan Goosen, who recently returned after seven months out injured, earn recalls for the tour.
“Scarra’s inclusion, like that of Gio, is also just-reward for continuous great. He’s still young and will learn a lot from our two front-line hookers, who both rate amongst the best in the world, on this tour. I want to expose him to this environment and the Springbok ethos and I’m very excited to work with him,” said Meyer.
“Pieter-Steph missed a large part of the season because of injury but has been exceptional since his return to the playing field last month, while we’ve always rated Frans very highly and look forward to working with him again.
“And Louis has always been on our radar – he is only 23, fits in with the way we want to play and was impressive when he worked with us in June. Since then he’s established himself as first-choice at DHL Western Province, starting in nine of their 12 Absa Currie Cup matches, and I believe he will learn a lot on this tour, improving even more.
“It will be great to have Bakkies, Jaque and JP in the squad – all of them are really excited to play for the Springboks again, they have heaps of experience and are world-class players.”
The Springboks finished second in the Rugby Championship this year, losing twice to the All Blacks in the decisive games of the season. But Meyer’s men have posted seven wins already this year and wil be looking for a final flourish to round off their season.
“We’ll play in conditions we’ve not yet encountered this year, but we want to keep our positive mind-set on the field and hopefully keep on scoring tries,” said Meyer. “We’re up for the challenge. I know the players are keen to finish 2013 off on a high.
“The Welsh have won the Six Nations the last two seasons. It’s our first Test against them since the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and they will be fired up at the Millennium Stadium.
“This year Scotland finished third in the Six Nations and in our two Tests against them in the last two seasons, they have been a tough nut to crack. We’re not expecting anything different at Murrayfield this year.
“We finish off against France at the Stade de France, where the Springboks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007. But we’ve not beaten Les Bleus in France since 1997 and will have to be sharp and focused for this last Test of a challenging season.”
Springbok Tour Party
Zane Kirchner (Full back) 28 caps / 25 points / 29 years
Gio Aplon (Full back/Wing) 17 caps / 25 points / 31 years
Willie le Roux (Full back/Wing) 9 caps / 15 points / 24 years
JP Pietersen (Wing) 48 caps / 70points / 27 years
Bryan Habana (Wing) 92 caps / 265 points / 30 years
JJ Engelbrecht (Centre/Wing) 10 caps / 20 points / 24 years
Jaque Fourie (Centre) 69 caps / 160 points / 32 years
Jean de Villiers (Captain, Centre) 93 caps / 120 points / 32 years
Jan Serfontein (Centre) 9 caps / 5 points / 20 years
Morné Steyn (Fly half) 51 caps / 618 points / 29 years
Johan Goosen (Fly half) 4 caps / 8 points / 21 years
Pat Lambie (Fly half/Full back) 29 caps / 55 points / 23 years
Fourie du Preez (Scrum half) 65 caps / 70 points / 31 years
Ruan Pienaar (Scrum half) 71 caps / 130 points / 29 years
Louis Schreuder (Scrum half) 0 caps / 0 points / 23 years
Duane Vermeulen (No 8) 13 caps / 5 points / 27 years
Siya Kolisi (Loose forward) 8 caps / 0 points / 22 years
Francois Louw (Loose forward) 25 caps / 25 points / 28 years
Willem Alberts (Loose forward) 27 caps / 30 points / 28 years
Marcell Coetzee (Loose forward) 14 caps / 5 points / 22 years
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Lock) 0 caps / 0 points / 21 years
Eben Etzebeth (Lock) 20 caps / 0 points / 22 years
Flip van der Merwe (Lock) 31 caps / 5 points / 28 years
Bakkies Botha (Lock) 76 caps / 35 points / 34 years
Jannie du Plessis (Prop) 51 caps / 5 points / 30 years
Frans Malherbe (Prop) 0 caps / 0 points / 22 years
Coenie Oosthuizen (Prop) 11 caps / 5 points / 24 years
Gurthrö Steenkamp (Prop) 46 caps / 30 points / 32 years
Tendai Mtawarira (Prop) 50 caps / 10 points / 28 years
