The Springboks have named their squad for their end of year tour of the Northern Hemisphere. In 2010 the South African rugby team will face Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England, making it a rare Grand Slam tour opportunity, their first since 2004.
Here is the Springbok squad for the 2010 End of Year Grand Slam tour:
Springbok Backs:
Gio Aplon, Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers (Western Province), Francois Hougaard, Zane Kirchner and Morne Steyn (Northern Bulls), Adrian Jacobs, Patrick Lambie and Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks), Bjorn Basson (Griqualand West), Elton Jantjies (Golden Lions), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster/IRL), Francois Steyn (Racing-Metro/FRA)
Springbok Forwards:
Willem Alberts, Keegan Daniel, Alistair Hargreaves, Ryan Kankowski, Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield (capt), Flip van der Merwe, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Pierre Spies and Deon Stegmann (Bulls), CJ van der Linde, Coenie Oosthuizen, Juan Smith and Adriaan Strauss (Central Cheetahs)
The original squad included centre Juan de Jongh, halfback Ricky Januarie and flanker Schalk Burger, but all three have had to withdraw because of injury. de Jongh and Burger incurred injuries playing for Western Province against Sharks in the Currie Cup final. Juan de Jongh received a hairline fracture on his left ankle while Schalk Burger has a broken rib. Adrian Jacobs, Deon Stegmann and Zane Kirchner come into the squad as replacements.
Victor Matfield will captain the Springboks, with regular skipper John Smit undergoing surgery.
Springbok End of Year Tour Schedule
Ireland vs South Africa – Saturday, November 06, 19:30
Wales vs South Africa – Saturday, November 13, 16:40
Scotland vs South Africa – Saturday, November 20, 16:30
England vs South Africa – Saturday, November 27, 16:30
Barbarians vs South Africa – Saturday, December 04, 16:30
