URC derbies: Final audition for Bok newbies ahead of alignment camp

Most of the 16 uncapped players included in the first Springbok alignment camp of the season taking place in Cape Town next week will have a final opportunity to show the Bok selectors what they are about in this weekend’s United Rugby Championship (URC) derbies.

The headlining game is undoubtedly the massive North-South derby between the Bulls and Stormers at Loftus, while the Lions and Sharks will be battling it out in an almost equally important clash across the Jukskei at Ellis Park.

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Fourteen of the 16 uncapped players should all be in action this weekend for their respective franchises, with Cheetahs hooker Marnus van der Merwe the only player definitely unlucky to not have a chance to impress.

Extra pressure

Certain players will have a bit more pressure on them to impress than others, especially those playing in key positions or positions that are well stocked.

As always the loose forward battle is an enthralling one in South African rugby, with the country constantly churning out world class loose forwards, so the uncapped trio of Celimpilo Gumede, Cameron Hanekom and Ruan Venter will hope to stand out again this weekend.

On the Bok front only Duane Vermeulen has retired from the loose forward group that went to the World Cup, while Elrigh Louw and Evan Roos are both back in the mix having missed out on World Cup selection, so competition will be fierce once again.

Hooker is going to be an interesting position that should see plenty of competition as well as the Boks have been extremely thin in the position.

At the World Cup Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi were the only specialist hookers, while Deon Fourie and Marco van Staden provided back up.

It is thus a great opportunity for Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Andre-Hugo Venter to show what they can do, although none of them is a guaranteed starter.

In fact one of Grobbelaar or Wessels is likely to miss out on selection as in-form former Bok Akker van der Merwe will likely be in the match 23, while Venter is battling with Joseph Dweba for the starting berth.

Flyhalf and scrumhalf

Other positions that players will be eager to impress in include flyhalf and scrumhalf, which should lead to plenty of competition.

Flyhalf is another thin position for the Boks, so Jordan Hendrikse might have the inside line despite him not being a frontline starter at the Lions, but with coach Rassie Erasmus putting a premium on utility players Sanele Nohamba and Sacha-Feinberg Mgomezulu will have just as much of a chance.

At scrumhalf the Boks are so massively stacked that Morne van den Berg will need to keep churning out top class performances over the rest of the season if he wants to be considered.

A good starting point would be him outshining Bok World Cup winners Jaden Hendrikse and Grant Williams when they go head to head on Saturday.

The 16 uncapped players taking part in the alignment camp are:

Forwards: Johan Grobbelaar, Celimpilo Gumede, Cameron Hanekom, Jan-Hendrik Wessels (all Bulls); Neethling Fouche, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ruben van Heerden (all Stormers); Ruan Venter (Lions); Marnus van der Merwe (Cheetahs)

Backs: Jordan Hendrikse, Quan Horn, Sanele Nohamba, Morne van den Berg, Henco van Wyk (all Lions); Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Suleiman Hartzenberg (both Stormers)