Is this the end of the line for Bok legends?
Habana‚ Pietersen and Burger do not make the national rugby squad
When Springbok coach Allister Coetzee named his 31-man squad to face France on Tuesday, he tacitly broke the news that three stalwarts’ Test careers are over. Bryan Habana‚ Schalk Burger and JP Pietersen‚ with a collective 280 Test caps and all playing club rugby in the northern hemisphere‚ were overlooked‚ indicating that their time is up in the international arena. None of the trio of 2007 World Cup winners has officially announced their Test retirement but Coetzee’s selection made it clear that his focus is on rewarding local players in positions he feels he has adequate cover. The same goes for hooker Bismarck du Plessis and tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis. They too are survivors from one of Springbok rugby’s greatest moments a decade ago‚ but are now surplus to requirements. Habana‚ 33‚ made it clear before 2016’s ill-fated Italian Test that he was under increasing pressure to commit more wholeheartedly to French club side Toulon. "When I first moved to Toulon, they knew that ...
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