Lambie earns SA call up

CAPE TOWN – Twenty-year-old Patrick Lambie played the match of his life on Saturday to earn a call-up to the 30-man Springbok team for their grand slam tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland next month.

There were also recalls for fullback Francois Steyn and scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar as under-fire coach Peter de Villiers named six uncapped players to face Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England on consecutive weekends.
Lambie earned selection after scoring 25 points in a man-of-the-match performance for the Natal Sharks, who beat Western Province 30-10 in the provincial Currie Cup final at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
Lambie is joined by another 20-year-old flyhalf, Elton Jantjies, while there are also Springbok call-ups for the Sharks trio of wing Lwazi Mvovo, backrowers Keegan Daniel and Willem Alberts, as well as Free State front-rower Coenie Oosthuizen.
‘We’ve rewarded players for their form in what was a difficult selection,’ De Villiers said in a statement. ‘It’s a new-look squad but it has a good backbone of experience for what is going to be a challenging tour.’
The team will be led by World Cup-winning lock Victor Matfield in the absence of the injured John Smit, who is joined on the casualty list by regulars Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier, Andries Bekker, Fourie du Preez, Heinrich Brussow, JP Pietersen, Gurthro Steenkamp, Butch James and BJ Botha.
Experienced centre Adi Jacobs has meanwhile been drafted into the Springbok camp as a precaution because of injury concerns over Jean de Villiers and Juan de Jongh, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) announced yesterday.
Jacobs joins the squad in Johannesburg on Sunday and a decision on whether he will formally be added to the tour squad will be taken following further medical assessments.
The Western Province pair of De Villiers and De Jongh both suffered injuries in the Absa Currie Cup final on Saturday. De Jongh was replaced during the match because of an ankle injury while De Villiers was able to complete the match despite a groin problem.
Springbok centres Jaque Fourie and Wynand Olivier were not available for selection because of injury. Jacobs, who was part of the preliminary tour squad, has been recalled as a precaution.
‘We will monitor Juan and Jean’s progress in the next couple of days,’ said Peter de Villiers, Springbok coach. ‘We have had a number of injuries among our senior centres so we decided it was essential to have some experienced cover on hand and in the group just in case.’
Jacobs, 30, missed the 2010 international season because of injury but it back to full fitness. He played the last of his 30 tests against Italy in November last year.
The Springboks kick off their tour against Ireland in Dublin on Nov. 6.
Squad:
Forwards: Willem Alberts (Sharks), Bakkies Botha (Blue Bulls), Schalk Burger (Western Province), Keegan Daniel (Sharks), Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks), Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), Alistair Hargreaves (Sharks), Ryan Kankowski (Sharks), Victor Matfield (captain, Blue Bulls), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Coenie Oosthuizen (Cheetahs), Chiliboy Ralepelle (Blue Bulls), Juan Smith (Cheetahs), Pierre Spies (Blue Bulls), Adriaan Strauss (Cheetahs), CJ van der Linde (Cheetahs), Flip van der Merwe ( Blue Bulls)
Backs: Gio Aplon (Western Province), Bjorn Basson (Blue Bulls), Juan de Jongh (Western Province), Jean de Villiers (Western Province), Francois Hougaard (Blue Bulls), Bryan Habana (Western Province), Elton Jantjies (Golden Lions), Ricky Januarie (Western Province), Patrick Lambie (Sharks), Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster), Francois Steyn (Racing Metro), Morne Steyn (Blue Bulls).
– Nampa-Sapa

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