Earl pips Butch for flyhalf spot

The flyhalf position threw up the biggest surprise when the Springbok squad was announced last night, with the inclusion of Earl Rose and the omission of the experienced Butch James from the touring party to Wales, Scotland and England.

Rose was long rumoured to be Springbok coach Peter de Villiers' preferred choice for the tour, which begins with a Test against Wales in Cardiff in two weeks time.

However, patchy performances for the Lions in big matches against the Sharks, Western Province and the Sharks again in the semi-final saw most critics write off his chances.

Indeed, many might have thought the death-knell to his chances of travelling were delivered by his provincial coach Eugene Eloff, who said after the WP game earlier this month that he felt Rose was not quite ready for international rugby. In Eloff's view, Rose needs another 12 months of provincial rugby before stepping onto the higher stage.

Rose's inclusion was at the expense of World Cup winning flyhalf James, who had come back into the equation in recent weeks. One would have thought that for a tour of the United Kingdom, where James is currently playing for Bath in the English and European leagues, James' name would have been first on the list.

De Villiers said that the omission of James was not necessarily an indication that the player's international career had come to an end.

"We know what we get from Butch, we know what he can give, and although we won't use him on this tour, I will be happy to go back to him in the future if it proves necessary," he said.

With Peter Grant selected only as a standby player, it appears that De Villiers is going to back Ruan Pienaar as his first choice flyhalf on this tour, with Rose as his back-up.

And De Villiers appeared to concede that Pienaar would start at No 10 when he confirmed that he would be the first choice goal-kicker in the Test matches. "I think Ruan is a special player and we would like to try him at flyhalf on this tour," said De Villiers after the announcement.

However, De Villiers' view might be challenged by some of his critics, as it was only a few months ago that De Villiers sent Pienaar back to the Sharks from a Springbok camp with the message that he must go and specialise. After playing two games at flyhalf for the Sharks, Pienaar moved back to scrumhalf and it was understood that he communicated his desire to specialise at No 9 to the Sharks management.

Goalkicking could be a problem on this tour, as Pienaar tends to blow hot and cold, and the Boks don't seem quite as well served now than they did when Percy Montgomery and James were both in the team.

There were two new caps and the other surprise was the selection of Cheetahs openside flank Heinrich Brussow. This though is a selection that is likely to be welcomed far and wide, for Brussow is highly rated as a breakdown specialist. Cobus Grobbelaar would have been another good option.

Chiliboy Ralepelle, the former national age-group captain who was used as a back-up hooker by Jake White, is back in the national group. With Bismarck du Plessis again in outstanding form this appears a sign that skipper John Smit might start the switch across to tighthead prop during this tour.

"The thing is that we have a problem at tighthead and we have two really excellent players at hooker," said De Villiers.

Two welcome returns to the squad are those of key World Cup Springboks Bakkies Botha and Jaques Fourie. The driving play of Botha will be crucial in northern hemisphere conditions, while it is going to be interesting to see what De Villiers does at outside centre. Fourie is a world class player, but Adrian Jacobs enjoyed a good Tri-Nations season.

On the form displayed in the final, the unluckiest player might well be Jean Deysel. The Sharks No 7 is one of the finest forward carriers of the ball in the country.

Squad

Forwards: Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussow, Bismarck du Plessis, Ryan Kankowski, Victor Matfield, Tendai Mtawarira, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Brian Mujati, Danie Rossouw, John Smit (captain), Juan Smith, Pierre Spies, Gurthro Steenkamp.

Backs: Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Adrian Jacobs, Conrad Jantjes, Enrico Januarie, Jonghi Nokwe, Odwa Ndungane, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Earl Rose, Francois Steyn.

Standby: Peter Grant, Jannie du Plessis, Johann Muller, Wynand Olivier, Adriaan Strauss, Heinke van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak.