Which Springboks earned an unexpected ticket to New Zealand?

On Saturday night, the Springboks named a group of 21 players to join their team-mates in New Zealand for this weekend’s second Rugby Championship outing against the All Blacks in Auckland, bringing the total number of players to 35.

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This selection came after the Springboks claimed an emphatic 43-12 victory against Australia at Loftus Versfeld in their opening match of the Rugby Championship, after after the game, it was confirmed that some of the thinking had changed after a number of fringe players put their hands up in thrashing the Wallabies. 

“Without going deep into detail on it or the performances of the guys today, I am not going to mention names, but we had an original squad that was supposed to join the guys overseas and some guys today, that were not part of the group, with the performance they had today, will be joining the squad,” assistant coach Mzwandile Stick explained.

“Sometimes the opportunities you get in life…everyone kept saying that this was a B-team. Some guys have booked their ticket today. That’s how special this game was today.”

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So, which Springboks earned an unexpected ticket to New Zealand based on their performances against Australia?

Although it is a bit of a guessing game, it’s fair to say that young scrumhalf Grant Williams was probably not going to be considered for the All Blacks game, but his cameo off the bench on Saturday may well have earned him selection.

Deon Fourie, Jean Kleyn, Marco van Staden and RG Snyman may also have not been part of the original squad planning, but all of those forwards made an impact against the Wallabies.

Meanwhile if there was any debate over whether Elton Jantjies or Manie Libbok should travel to offer flyhalf back up, that was settled after the Stormers star produced a superb performance. Similarly, Andre Esterhuizen impressed at inside centre, which could have booked his ticket.

A group of 13 players travelled to New Zealand on Tuesday, which included injured skipper Siya Kolisi and a few team management members, while Bulls prop Gerhard Steenekamp made the journey on Wednesday as an injury replacement for Ox Nche, taking the number of players in New Zealand to 14.

Upon closer analysis, the players who won’t be joining the Springboks in New Zealand are Elton Jantjies, Evan Roos, Marvin Orie, and Canan Moodie. The latter three players were all involved in action in Pretoria on Saturday.

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ADDITIONAL SPRINGBOKS PLAYERS TRAVELLING TO NEW ZEALAND:

Forwards: Thomas du Toit (prop), Pieter-Steph du Toit (loose forward), Deon Fourie (utility forward), Steven Kitshoff (prop), Jean Kleyn (lock), Vincent Koch (prop) Frans Malherbe (prop), Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Trevor Nyakane (prop), RG Snyman (lock), Marco van Staden (flank), Duane Vermeulen (No 8).

Backs: Lukhanyo Am (centre), Kurt-Lee Arendse (wing), Andre Esterhuizen (centre), Herschel Jantjies (scrumhalf), Willie le Roux (fullback), Manie Libbok (flyhalf), Cobus Reinach (scrumhalf), Damian Willemse (utility back), Grant Williams (scrumhalf).

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