rugby boks squad Well, well. Wonders never cease.

My friend MIKE GREENAWAY writes rather well and too the point re the boks.. enjoy this read

It was in the Mercury last week in Durban

Well, well. Wonders never cease. Black sheep Francois Steyn has been recalled to the Springbok squad for the home leg of the Tri-Nations although the sting in the tale is that he was injured yesterday playing for his Parisian club, Racing Metro, and a scan today on his knee might well preclude him from selection for the August 21 kick-off against the All Blacks at Johannesburg’s Soccer City.

The other notable inclusions in the 29-man training squad (to be cut to 24 on Friday after this week’s training camp) are openside flank Heinrich Brussow, hooker Bismarck du Plessis, flank Juan Smith and wing JP Pietersen.

Brussow and Du Plessis have only just recovered from injury and are not serious contenders for starting places, but the latter two could come straight back into the reckoning after having proved their fitness in the Currie Cup for the Cheetahs and Sharks respectively.

Steyn, though, is the enigmatic selection. He was recalled to play for the Boks against Wales in June in Cardiff, following a bitter row between himself and coach Peter de Villiers, and after that Springbok win at the Millennium Stadium, the coach said that Steyn “was off the pace and had suffered from playing in the Northern Hemisphere.”

That comment was arguably De Villiers’ worst ever in terms of him showing the perceived cracks in his rugby knowledge because almost every other observer of that game thought Steyn had played well, and it was Steyn’s long distance penalty goal that won the game for the Boks.

So, someone must have either enlightened or eluminated De Villiers as to what makes a quality Test fullback or otherwise coerced him into the selection..

Aprt from Steyn, the squad is very much as anticipated given that the squad that performed miserably overseas recently was always going to be given a last chance of redeeming themselves on home soil.

Missing from the squad that heavily lost all three away matches are injured scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar and lock Andries Bekker. Pienaar, who started against the Wallabies in the last tour game, is expected to be replaced in the starting XV by Bulls livewire Francois Hougaard.

http://www.iol.co.za