SuperSport Schools Plus

Saturday’s Springboks against Scotland and their schools

By Hannes Nienaber , in Rugby | News , at 2014-06-26 Tags: , ,

The Springbok team for Saturday’s test match against Scotland in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth has been named and Handre Pollard is set to become Paarl Gimnasium’s next Springbok. Pollard is the only uncapped player named in the starting XV. 

Pollard captained the South African u20-side to the final of this year IRB Junior World Championship (JWC) in New Zealand. He was also named IRB Player of the Year at the conclusion of the tournament. Pollard represented Western Province at the 2011 and 2012 Coca-Cola Craven Weeks. He was on the bench at the 2011 tournament in Kimberley with Tim Swiel being the first flyhalf of Bishops to don the Western Province number 10 jersey since Herschelle Gibbs had the honor in 1992. 

At the 2012 tournament in the same stadium as Saturday’s test, Pollard got injured in his side’s first match against the Blue Bulls. Pollard however struggled through the match as his side lost 47-27 against the eventual unofficial champions of the week. He was replaced by former Springbok wing, Carel du Plessis’ son Jean-Luc du Plessis in the Western Province squad after the match. 

Interesting is the fact that the two former Paul Roos Gimnasium pupils in the squad, Willie le Roux and Francois Hougaard, wasn’t rated good enough by the Western Province selectors to represent them at the pretigious Coca-Cola Craven Week. 

For the first time ever two players for Nelspruit HS will be on the field if replacement flyhalf, Marnitz Boshoff gets a run with eightman Duane Vermeulen still on the pitch. Boshoff will become the Rhinos, as they like to call themselves, fourth Springbok after Nico Wegner, Schutte Bekker and Vermeulen. 

Three other players on the bench will be waiting anxiously to make their test debuts. They are Oupa Mahoje, Marcel van der Merwe and Stephan Lewies. Mahoje will become Louis Botha in Bloemfontein’s fourth Springbok after AJ Venter, Daan Human and Raymond Rhule if he gets his chance. 

Van der Merwe is a curious case as he matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein, but he also played for Paarl Boys’ High first XV before making the move to the City of Roses after his grade 11 year. School of Rugby will credit both schools with his rise to becoming a Springbok. But with Boishaai having a reputation and record to boost in producing props of high quality, there might be a more than valid argument that they had the most influence on his development as rugby player on school level. 

Talking about the Springbok Factory in Bloemfontein the whole front row of Jannie du Plessis, Biscmarck du Plessis and Coenie Oosthuizen is former pupils of Grey College. And on the bench Van der Merwe and Adriaan Strauss is also players who went to the school in the City of Roses. 

Lewies will become Eldoraigne first Springbok player if he sets foot onto the field. He also never made the Blue Bulls Craven Week side. 

 

The Springbok team to face Scotland in Port Elizabeth is:

Position

Name

Schools

15

Willie le Roux

Paul Roos Gimnasium

14

Cornal Hendricks

Bergrivier

13

JP Pietersen

General Hertzog

12

Jan Serfontein

Grey College

11

Lwazi Mvovo

Maria Louw

10

Handré Pollard

Paarl Gimnasium

9

Fourie du Preez (vice-captain)

Affies

8

Duane Vermeulen

Nelspruit

7

Schalk Burger

Paarl Gimnasium

6

Marcell Coetzee

Port Natal

5

Victor Matfield (captain)

Pietersburg HS

4

Lood de Jager

Hugenote, Springs

3

Jannie du Plessis

Grey College

2

Bismarck du Plessis (vice-captain)

Grey College

1

Coenie Oosthuizen

Grey College

Replacements:

16

Adriaan Strauss

Grey College 

17

Trevor Nyakane

Ben Vorster

18

Marcel van der Merwe

Grey College/Paarl Boys’ High

19

Stephan Lewies

Eldoraigne

20

Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje

Louis Botha

21

Francois Hougaard

Paul Roos Gimnasium

22

Marnitz Boshoff

Nelspruit

23

Zane Kirchner

PW Botha College

 

Hannes Nienaber
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.