It is certainly not breaking news by this time that Bakkies “the enforcer” Botha will miss out on Sunday’s Bok opening match at RWC 2011. Even the most social recluse had to have seen, heard or read something to this effect, but if you live under a rock or anywhere in the Northern Cape, now you know! Danie Rossouw will take his place and Johann Muller will no doubt be promoted to the bench. What the rest of the team selection holds is debateable, but there seems at least one school of thought believing that it would be a 4/3 split on the bench (in favour of the backs). Traditionally Divvy has had very few outings where had more backs on the bench than forwards, but some feel that Sunday will call for one extra game-breaker.

Let us leave the bench for last as I’ve read that any coach worth his salt starts his team sheet with the certainties. Starting with the captain and vice-captain and then proceeding chronologically, it should look something like this – Smit, Matfield, Beast, Jannie du Plessis, Burger, Brussouw and Spies. Bakkies would have been an automatic inclusion as well, but now Rossouw gets the nod. The backs are clear cut and will be du Preez, Morne Steyn, Habana, de Villiers & Fourie, JP Pietersen and Francois Steyn. Now for the complications – Matfield is carrying a hamstring injury and sat out training for three days straight, while Burger, who is already short on game time and has yet to make proper contact with his recently healed, broken digit. These seem to be minor concerns, but worth mentioning none the less.

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Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has stuck to his winning formula by making only one change to the team that won against Ireland.

De Villiers drafted in Frans Steyn to the outside centre berth to the team that beat Ireland 23-21 in Dublin on Saturday. Zane Kirchner drops to the bench while the replacement looseforward position will be confirmed later in the week.

Here is the team (name, province, age and number of Tests):

Deon Stegmann will make his debut for the Springboks against Ireland on Saturday, along with Patrick Lambie if Jean de Villiers is not declared fit. The bench will also include two uncapped players.

The team shows eight changes (nine if De Villiers is unavailable) to the one which ended the Vodacom Tri-Nations against Australia in September.

The six definite survivors are Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, captain Victor Matfield and Jannie du Plessis. A seventh, Francois Hougaard is on the bench, while an eighth in Frans Steyn will only join the squad after the Ireland match.

Stegmann, 24, comes in for Schalk Burger in the No 6 jersey. Burger suffered a broken rib in the Absa Currie Cup final and withdrew from the tour party.

The 20-year-old Lambie – man of the match in the Absa Currie Cup final after a two-try, 25-point haul on Saturday – is on standby to replace Jean de Villiers at inside centre if he fails to recover from his groin injury.

South Africa v Ireland – Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 6 November 2010

15 – Gio Aplon (Vodacom Western Province, age: 28, caps: 9)
14 – Bjorn Basson (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 23, 2)
13 – Zane Kirchner (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 26, 10)
12 – Jean de Villiers/*Patrick Lambie (Vodacom WP/The Sharks, 29/20, 63/0)
11 – Bryan Habana (Vodacom Western Province, 27, 66)
10 – Morne Steyn (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 26, 21)
9 – Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland, 26, 43)
8 – Pierre Spies (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 25, 37)
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Francois Steyn will replace Gio Aplon who drops out of the squad altogether and Jaque Fourie returns after suspension to take over from Juan de Jongh at outside centre. De Jongh moves to the bench.

Those are the only changes to the starting line-up of the side that lost to the All Blacks at FNB Stadium last weekend.

On the bench Wynand Olivier makes way for De Jongh while Ryan Kankowski has been brought in as a replacement to add more pace to the pack. He replaces Francois Louw who is also no longer in the match-22.

Springbok team: Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Flip van der Merwe, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit (capt), Gurthro Steenkamp.

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Bandise Maku is a Springbok again after he replaced John Smit in the Sprinbok squad ahead of the first Test against Italy on Saturday.

This follows after Bok captain John Smit was ruled out of the game with a grade one hamstring strain.

Maku, who played in two of the midweek matches on South Africa’s year-end tour last season, joins the squad to cover for Smit.

There will be some questions as to why the two players behind World Cup winner Gary Botha in the Bulls pecking order – Maku and Chiliboy Ralepelle – got the call at hooker.

Van der Linde, however, returns to the squad after taking part in the one-off Test against Wales in Cardiff 10 days ago.

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Francois Louw and Gio Aplon of the Stormers have been rewarded for their good form against Wales and retained their positions in the Springbok team for Saturday’s match against France at Newlands.

It will be a big occasion for the pair as it will be the first time they play for a full-strength Springbok team — and the match is being played on their home ground. There are four other Stormers players in the team, including scrumhalf Ricky Januarie

Not everyone was that convinced by Januarie’s form against Wales, but coach Peter de Villiers on Tuesday backed up his contention that Januarie was one of the pick of the Bok players in Cardiff by handing him the No 9 jersey ahead of Ruan Pienaar.

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Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said that the Springboks will not underestimate the Italians when they meet at the Stadio Friuli in Udine on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference in the Northern Italian city after making four changes to the Bok starting XV that lost to France last weekend, De Villiers said the Italians had shown great improvements in recent seasons and were fast becoming a force to be reckoned with.

“The more experience they gain, the better they are becoming and they are able to compete with any team on the day,” De Villiers said.

“They have a very good pack of forwards and they showed in their match against New Zealand that they will be very competitive at scrum time.”

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