No Roos as Boks go Down Under

CANAN Moodie has kept his spot in Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s 34-man squad for the Australian leg of the Rugby Championship.

The Boks face Australia in Adelaide next week Saturday and Sydney a week later on September 3.

Stormers No 8 Evan Roos is the big omission from the squad after making his Test debut in a muchchanged line-up against Wales in July. Nienaber, though, said he would make changes to the squad for the two Tests against Argentina in Buenos Aires and Durban, with the goal of expanding their depth ahead of the World Cup in France next year.

“We have been working with a large group of players for the last few months and we believe this will pay off in the long run as we look to expand our depth for the Rugby World Cup and beyond,” said Nienaber.

“Since we are going on tour, however, we will take a group of players that is more in line with the size of a Rugby World Cup squad. Our thought process is that we will have two groups of players – one who will participate in the Australian leg of the competition and another for the Argentina matches.

“This way we can manage the players as well as possible on tour, while at the same time ensuring we continue to develop our depth and give the players opportunities to prove themselves with a little over a year to go before the Rugby World Cup kicks off.”

Moodie was called up to the squad following the four-week suspension Kurt-lee Arendse copped for a dangerous tackle in the opening Test against New Zealand in Nelspruit. The 19-year-old, who will provide cover at wing and fullback, is the only uncapped player in the group.

Stormers breakdown ace Deon Fourie - who can play at both hooker and flank - is also in the mix, with hooker Bongi Mbonambi ruled out due to a knee injury. Fourie will bolster the current No 2 stocks, which features Malcolm Marx and Joseph Dweba.

“Bongi has been ruled out for four weeks, but Deon, who is an experienced hooker and flank, has been practising his line-out throws with us, so we are confident that he will be able to fill that void for us in these matches,” said Nienaber.

“We are also excited to see how Canan slots in during the next few weeks and to see how he adapts to our structures and systems, and we believe he has the skills to slot in for Kurt-lee and Cheslin (Kolbe).

“This is a settled group of players and includes a wide spread of experience and young players who have made their presence felt, and we believe that they have what it takes to guide us back on track in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in the matches against Australia.”

The Boks will depart on Thursday for the tour to Australia and Argentina.

SPRINGBOK TOUR SQUAD

Props: Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Frans Malherbe, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane

Hookers: Joseph Dweba, Malcolm Marx

Locks: Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Salmaan Moerat

Loose forwards: Pieter-steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese, Duane Vermeulen

Utility forwards: Deon Fourie, Franco Mostert Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk, Jaden Hendrikse, Herschel Jantjies, Cobus Reinach

Flyhalves: Elton Jantjies, Handre Pollard Midfielders: Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen

Outside backs: Makazole Mapimpi, Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Warrick Gelant

Utility backs: Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel, Frans Steyn*