Currie Cup star Lambie gets Springbok spot
Sharks' Currie Cup final match-winner Patrick Lambie is among six uncapped players named for a South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland next month.
The others are his provincial team-mates Lwazi Mvovo, Willem Alberts and Keegan Daniel, Golden Lions five-eighth Elton Jantjies and Central Cheetahs prop Coenie Oosthuizen.
Iconic lock Victor Matfield will skipper a 30-strong Springbok squad comprising 13 backs and 17 forwards on a tour that includes four Tests and an exhibition match against the Barbarians.
Ireland are first up in Dublin on November 6 followed on successive Saturdays by Wales in Cardiff, Scotland in Edinburgh and England and the Baabaas in London.
Just a couple of hours after the squad was named on Saturday in Durban, Western Province halfback Ricky Januarie withdrew owing to a knee injury sustained during the first half of the Currie Cup final.
The reigning world champions will be without numerous other injured stars, including first-choice captain and hooker John Smit and No.9 Fourie du Preez, on a mission fraught with danger for coach Peter de Villiers.
His team conceded 22 tries when losing five of six 2010 Tri-Nations matches against the All Blacks and Wallabies and many South African pundits believe he needs three Test victories to keep his job.
"It is a new-look squad but has a good backbone of experience for what is going to be a very challenging tour and we will need to be in top form from the kick-off in Ireland," warned De Villiers.
"We need strong on-field leadership because a number of key players are absent and this is why it was critical for us that Victor lead the squad."
De Villiers has come under fire from some sports scientists and sections of the media for including Matfield after an exacting season for the 2007 Rugby World Cup winner.
Lambie, who turned 20 this month, capped an outstanding Currie Cup season by scoring 25 points as Sharks defeated Western Province 30-10 on Saturday to win the Currie Cup a sixth time.
It was a heady evening for the mop-haired, media-shy No.10 who collected the $US1500 ($A1,536) man of the match award just minutes before hearing he was in the Springbok squad.
Equally delighted was Daniel, who did not make the original 39-man squad for a training camp in Johannesburg last weekend.
But another outstanding performance in the Currie Cup final swayed De Villiers and the selectors while Alberts gets the nod partly for ball-carrying skills that have taken Sharks over the advantage line so often.
Jantjies, another 20-year-old, was a close second behind Lambie as discovery of the Currie Cup campaign although neither is likely to start against Ireland.
Incumbent Morne Steyn from Northern Bulls is a phenomenal place kicker when on song while the rest of his game has suffered from the lengthy absence of Du Preez, another World Cup winner and rated the best international No.9.
South Africa squad
Backs: Gio Aplon, Bryan Habana, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Francois Hougaard, Morne Steyn, Patrick Lambie, Lwazi Mvovo, Bjorn Basson, Elton Jantjies, Ruan Pienaar, Francois Steyn.
Forwards: Willem Alberts, Keegan Daniel, Alistair Hargreaves, Ryan Kankowski, Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield (capt), Flip van der Merwe, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Pierre Spies, CJ van der Linde, Coenie Oosthuizen, Juan Smith, Adriaan Strauss, Schalk Burger
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