Meyer may give Morne chance at Loftus

Steve Haag Gallo Images

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer may give Morn� Steyn one final chance to redeem himself at a ground he can call his backyard.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will either give Morné Steyn one final chance to redeem himself at a ground he can call his backyard or he will look to 20-year-old Johan Goosen to help save the Springboks when they come up against Australia at Loftus this Saturday.

Also in the mix is the uncapped Elton Jantjies, who on Saturday was added to the 30-man Bok squad following a Rugby Championship competition in which the Boks have managed just one win, against Argentina at Newlands.

In Mendoza, they drew with Argentina and then went on to lose against the Wallabies in Perth and the All Blacks in Dunedin.

There is a strong possibility, though, that despite calls from many quarters for Steyn to regain his form in the Currie Cup and the Boks to look to the future with Goosen or Jantjies in the No10 jersey, the under fire Meyer will continue with Steyn at flyhalf. For, if there is one place on earth where the Blue Bulls man can regain his form and confidence, it is surely at a venue he knows extremely well.

All will be revealed by Meyer in the coming days, but one thing is certain: Jantjies is unlikely to feature this coming weekend.

If Steyn – who was said to be fatigued ahead of the New Zealand clash in Dunedin and simply needed some rest, according to Meyer – fails this weekend, then only will the Lions man get his chance in the Bok jersey, but almost certainly not ahead of Goosen who is next in line to wear the No10.

One Lions player who seems a near certainty to feature this weekend, though, is utility back Jaco Taute who was called up for the first time at the weekend.

Now fully fit after sitting out for close on four months, Taute can play fullback, wing and centre and may start in place of Zane Kirchner this Saturday or play off the bench.

Veteran prop CJ van der Linde is also back in the Bok fold and gives Meyer greater depth in the front row. He now has Jannie du Plessis, Pat Cilliers and Van der Linde as his tighthead prop options. Coenie Oosthuizen, who covers both sides of the front row, adds further depth now that he, too, is back in the fold. The other prop in the squad is loosehead specialist Tendai Mtawarira.

Speaking after naming his squad for the two forthcoming home Tests, Meyer said of Taute and Jantjies: “I’d always wanted to include Jaco in the squad but an untimely injury meant we could not select him earlier. Jaco is big, strong, fast and versatile and it will be good to get him involved.

“Elton was part of the squad before this season, against England in June and in the first part of the Rugby Championship.

“He only missed out when we had to cut the numbers of the squad and it’s good to have him back.”

The only player who went on tour Down Under but is not part of the set-up now is scrumhalf Jano Vermaak, while prop Dean Greyling is banned.

The following players, who were part of the squad earlier in the season, were not considered for selection because of injury: JP Pietersen, Bjorn Basson, Pierre Spies, Siya Kolisi, Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bismarck du Plessis.

Springbok squad:

Willem Alberts, Andries Bekker, Craig Burden, Pat Cilliers, Marcell Coetzee, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (capt), Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Goosen, Bryan Habana, Francois Hougaard, Elton Jantjies, Zane Kirchner, Juandré Kruger, Pat Lambie, Tiaan Liebenberg, Francois Louw, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Coenie Oosthuizen, Ruan Pienaar, Jacques Potgieter, Frans Steyn, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Jaco Taute, CJ van der Linde, Flip van der Merwe, Duane Vermeulen