By now most of you will have come across Dale Granger's interview with Jake White, published in yesterday's Argus, in which the Springbok coach outlines his probable squad of 45 ahead of the midyear internationals. It’s a squad that looks to have a backbone of familiarity, but one or two decisions scream out from the anticipated list — and in particular, an open side flanker who has every right to wonder what he has to do to get a Springbok look-in.
For reasons shrugged off with shallow rhetoric, Luke Watson brings out the Alex Ferguson in White, the side that David Beckham, Jaap Stam odds, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelroy have encountered to the detriment of their respective careers at Old Trafford. White has explained away his insistence on passing over Watson by running through the glut of young loose forwards available — Burger, Smith, Cronjé, Wannenberg, Van Niekerk — and when 45 names are called out on Saturday, Watson’s won’t be amongst them.
And that verges on criminal, for Watson has been little short of outstanding this year, and that in a side which has rarely flickered above mediocre in the Super 14. Watson's commitment to taking his game up a level this year has been a joy to watch in a season of bleak rugby; Schalk Burger remains the first-choice openside, and not without reason, but his Stormers team-mate deserves more than the cursory brush-off he's set to receive as reward for being one of South Africa’s few consistent performers in Super 14.
The Schalk Brits camp may be starting to feel something similar, as the hooker is another set to miss out. The issue isn't just Brits missing out, however (and the debate on his ability in the loose versus his perceived weaknesses in more traditional aspects of the number two jersey); the third choice hooker, 19-year-old Chilliboy Ralepele, comes in ahead of Brits and Gary Botha, and while White has every right to make a few gut calls and look outside the narrow parameters local Super 14 coaches tend to operate within, it’s a big call to thrust a teenager into the front row in international rugby.
While the group of 45 isn't set in stone, White gave Granger a clear indication of who else has failed to gain his favour. Ross Skeate and Andries Bekker are set to miss out, all the more motivation for both Stormers locks to produce something special against the Bulls on Saturday, and prove a point in the process. BJ Botha’s authority as the cornerstone of the Sharks front row won’t be rewarded with a national call-up just yet, and a solid year for the brothers Ndungane won’t end with a trip to Bloemfontein next week.
But for all the disappointment Saturday's announcement will herald, there'll also be celebration, as well as a sense of homecoming for four veterans. Breyton Paulse returns from France, and André Snyman is back from England; joining them are likely to be AJ Venter and Johann Ackerman, the quartet cranking up the average age of the squad substantially, and indicating that with a World Cup just a year away, planning for the tournament occupies a central tenet in the coach's thinking.
One or two last calls will still be made this weekend, and perhaps if the Stormers have 14 men red-carded, and the remaining Luke Watson still manages to hold off the Bulls for a one-man victory, White may be forced into a re-think. But chances are slim, the squad that will assemble in Bloemfontein next week is all but settled, as Jake's willingness to give such an open interview several days prior to the squad announcement demonstrates. Come Saturday, debate will rage in earnest; thanks to Granger's interview, discussion is already reaching robust levels. Come June 2, Watson is set to line up for the World XV against the Boks; whatever the ever-diplomatic flanker may say, he looks likely to have one hell of a point to prove to the national coach. |