Springboks VS Wallabies

04 September 2010 17h00 [GMT+2]

Vodacom Park – Bloemfontein

Springboks: 15. Francois Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp.

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Juan de Jongh, 22. Gio Aplon.

Wallabies: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Mark Chisholm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Benn Robinson.

Replacements: 16. Saia Fainga’a, 17. James Slipper, 18. Dean Mumm, 19. Richard Brown, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Anthony Fainga’a.

• Date: Saturday 4 September 2010
• Venue: Vodacom Park – Bloemfontein
• Kick-off: 17h00 [GMT+2]
• Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
• Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
• TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

A history of Australia VS South Africa in South Africa:

• This will be the 74th meeting between Australia and South Africa at all venues. Australia has won 28 and South Africa 44, while one match has been drawn.
• Just eight of Australia’s previous wins have been attained on South African soil, with the Springboks taking the other 30 matches that have been played.
• Australia has won just twice previously at high veldt venues: 15-4 in 1933 at Bloemfontein and 11-9 in 1963 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
• The Wallabies have been beaten on their two most recent visits to Bloemfontein, including their first ever Tri Nations match in the Republic in 1996, which was lost 19-25.
• Australia’s 11-point win over South Africa at Bloemfontein in 1933 is one of just three defeats suffered by the Springboks from 16 Tests played in the Free State capital.
• Vodacom Park is home to the Free State Cheetahs in the domestic South African Currie Cup competition. It is also the home of the Cheetahs in Super Rugby.
• The ground witnessed a then record score during the 1995 Rugby World Cup when New Zealand beat Japan 145-17, with flyhalf Simon Culhane scoring 45 points while winger Marc Ellis totalled six tries. Both still stand as tournament records for one match.
• A year later, Bloemfontein hosted Australia’s maiden match on South African soil in the newly inaugurated Tri Nations tournament featuring Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This year’s Test will be the Qantas Wallabies’ first visit to Vodacom Park since that match 14 years ago.
• The ground was a host venue for six matches during the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup held in South Africa.
• South Africa hasn’t lost a Test match at Vodacom Park since 2000 when it was edged out 27-22 by England.
• Australia’s most recent win on South African soil was a 27-15 win at Durban in 2008 which secured the Mandela Plate. That success was the first achieved by the Wallabies in the Republic for eight years.
• Prior to South Africa’s readmission to international sport in 1992, Australia had won just seven of the 31 matches played.
• The scoreboard stands at 21 wins to Australia and 20 to South Africa, with one drawn, for the period since then.

The Rugby Club brings us their latest installment of the hugely popular “Plays of the week” for 25/08/2010 – as always including some smoking hot footage of the Currie Cup cheerleaders! Nuff said, Boom! [BlogSpotRugby]

I’ll cheers to that…

The new face on the block

The following from SARU: The South African Rugby Union (SARU) jointly announced a ground-breaking rights deal for Springbok players’ image rights with the Springbok Players’ Trust on Tuesday.

The new arrangement – the first of its kind in rugby – ends months of negotiation and crucially clarifies commercial access by SARU and sponsors to the image rights of Springbok players.

“The players ceded their image rights to a Players’ Trust at the start of the 2009, removing them from their Springbok contracts,” explained Dr Jan Marais, chairman of the Executive Council of SARU. “We then entered into a long negotiation about what we would pay them for using their image rights in executing our sponsorship deals.

“I’m happy to say that we have now come to an amicable arrangement that will benefit both parties by allowing SARU to honour its commercial commitments and by rewarding the players for using their images in advertisements and for making personal appearances.”

Eugene Henning, executive director of the commercial division of SARPA, who are managing agents of the Springbok Players’ Trust, said that the deal was the first of its kind in South African rugby.

“The new arrangement creates a sophisticated and elegant landscape to govern the use of these rights in future and differentiate between the rugby playing services and the general commercial services rendered by a player” he said. “It is aligned with the best practices developed in other sporting codes nationally and internationally.

“The conclusion of the agreement underlines the commitment of both national players and SARU to continuously develop and promote professional rugby in South Africa. It was a robust and challenging negotiation process and the amount of commercial responsibility showed by the national players during this process should be recognised and applauded.”

Dr Marias said: “We have agreed upon a certain amount per appearance by players. Sponsors pay for an association with the Springbok team but there are faces that go with the team and we are now able to ensure that we can give them those faces.”

The players’ trust will also be paid a lump sum for the use of their images in sponsorship activations.

“This is a new departure and clarifies what was a complicated relationship based on assumption and expectation in the past,” said Andy Marinos, SARU manger of national teams.

“We’re now in the happy position that both the players and SARU know exactly where they stand and we can confidently deliver on the rights that have been granted to our commercial partners. The long-term expectation is that both the Union and players will benefit from the arrangement.”

Springbok team to face Wallabies: Bloemfontein – 4 September 2010:

Springboks: 15. Francois Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp.

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Juan de Jongh, 22. Gio Aplon.

The thinking behind the selections:

The Springboks have made two changes to their match 22 for their final Vodacom Tri-Nations Test of the season against Australia at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

There is one change to the starting XV with Danie Rossouw getting the nod ahead of Flip van der Merwe at lock. Van der Merwe moves to the bench.

The second change is amongst the reserves where Gio Aplon returns in place of the injured Butch James.

Van der Merwe and prop Jannie du Plessis were both cleared to play after undergoing medical assessments on Monday. James, meanwhile, was ruled out through a shoulder injury.

Asked why he had preferred Rossouw to van der Merwe in the Bok engine room, coach Peter de Villiers said: “We feel that Danie will be better suited the to the type of game we would like to play as well as to what we expect the Wallabies may bring to the game on Saturday”.

De Villiers said that his players were determined to do well in Bloemfontein, which has so far been a happy hunting ground for the Boks during his tenure. “There is still the Mandela Cup to play for and whilst we do not play only to win trophies we do see them as just reward for hard work, so hopefully our hard work will pay off and we can celebrate a win at the weekend”.

Vice-captain Victor Matfield said he had been pleased with the improvements in the forward play in last week’s 44-31 win over Australia in Pretoria.

“The lineouts were better but I was really impressed by how well we did at the breakdown,” Matfield said. “I was also very happy with the scrums which were a good launching platform for us. We will continue to see where we can improve this week”.

The Boks were put through their paces in extremely warm conditions at Shimla Park on Tuesday morning. The session included a run against a Free State Under-21 group in which they focused on structured play. Then forwards also put in a good scrumming session.

If body laguage could talk

Bryan Habana, by his own lofty standards has been having a shocker of a 2010 international season to say the least. It has been so bad in fact, that the “quick to forget the good of the past”, South African public are calling for his head.

As the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. We all know what Habana has done for the Springboks, and that over the last 5 or 6 years, he has pretty much selected himself.

That being said though, Habana is in such bad form at the moment, that I tend to agree with the call for him to be dropped.

I don’t, however, for a second believe he is finished. He will go down as one of the greatest ever Springbok wings. But if for nothing else, at least let it serve as a wake up.

Let it put him in a situation where he needs to test, for himself, if he still has the hunger for the Green and Gold.

Habana clearly isn’t in a good place right now. His body language says it all. Whether he is putting too much pressure on himself to break the Springbok try scoring record, or whether he just needs some time out of the game, something needs to be done.

Prof. Tim Noakes, who helped the Springboks to the 2007 IRB World Cup win in 2007, called for Habana to be rested for the 2009 end of year tour, sighting that he had already played too much rugby throughout the year.

This year has been no different for Habana. He played a big role in the Stormers successful Super14 campaign, and has been part of the Springbok setup all year.

We all saw what happened when Drew Mitchel was left out of the initial Wallaby Tri Nations squad, and told to go play some club rugby. He had a cracker, got his confidence up, forced his way back into the national squad, and is running the opposition ragged these days.

Maybe it’s time for Bryan to get a break, and for PDV go chat to the WP coaching staff and have Habana released to play a game or two for UCT/Hammies/False Bay et al.

Further to the two shocking tries he gifted the Wallabies on Saturday, Habana made zero tackles and missed one.

Let him take the pressure off, and get his confidence back up. Any way you look at it, the wolves are waiting in the wings (excuse the pun), and with talented newbies like Gio Aplon and Bjorn Basson showing the hunger that’s required, Habana doesn’t have a lot of time to sort his act out.

Bryan Habana: out of form against the Wallabies:

• What do you think Habana needs to do to get back on top?

Springboks VS Wallabies

28 August 2010 17h00 [GMT+2]

Loftus Versfeld – Pretoria

Springboks: 15. Frans Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Danie Rossouw, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Butch James, 22. Juan de Jongh

Wallabies: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Saia Faainga, 1. Benn Robinson.

Replacements: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. James Slipper, 18. Ben McCalman, 19. Scott Higginbotham, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Anthony Faainga.

• Date: Saturday 28 August 2010
• Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
• Kick-off: 17h00 [GMT +2]
• Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) 
• Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland) 
• TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A history of Australia VS South Africa in South Africa:

• This will be the 73^rd meeting between Australia and South Africa at all venues. Australia has won 28, including the two most recent meetings, and South Africa 43, while one match has been drawn.
• Just eight of Australia’s previous wins have been attained on South African soil, with the Springboks taking the other 29 matches that have been played.
• Australia has won just twice previously at high veldt venues – in 1933 at Bloemfontein and 1963 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Wallabies have been beaten on all four previous visits to Loftus Versfeld in 1963, 1997, 2001 and 2005.
• Australia’s most recent win on South African soil was a 27-15 win at Durban in 2008 which secured the Mandela Trophy. That success was the first achieved by the Wallabies in the Republic for eight years.
• Prior to South Africa’s readmission to international sport in 1992, Australia had won just seven of the 31 matches played.
• The scoreboard stands at 21 wins to Australia and 19 to South Africa, with one drawn, for the period since then.
• Loftus Versfeld, which is home to the Super 14 champion Bulls, has hosted 29 previous Tests featuring the Springboks, from which the home side has won 21 and lost eight.
• The ground, which houses 50,000 seats, hosted the 2009 Super 14 final where the Bulls beat the Chiefs.
• It was also used for six matches in the recent 2010 FIFA football World Cup which was held in South Africa.
• The ground was zoned for sport in 1914, with the first grandstand accommodating 2000 people built in 1923, and changing rooms and toilet facilities added in 1928, largely paid for out of the profits of that year’s All Black tour of South Africa.
• Known as the Eastern sports grounds until 1932, the grounds were re-named Loftus Versfeld to honour the memory of the founder of organised sport in Pretoria, who died that year.
• The Northern Transvaal Rugby Football Union (now Blue Bulls RFU) was established in 1938 after breaking away from the Johannesburg-based Transvaal RFU.
• Northern Transvaal won its first Currie Cup in 1946. That team included the immortal Springbok, (Dr) Danie Craven. Last year, when the team beat the Cheetahs in the final, the Blue Bulls clinched South African domestic supremacy for the 20^th time.
• The 1997 Tri Nations Test at the ground saw Australia concede its highest ever score against South Africa.
• South Africa has lost just two of its last 10 Tests at the ground since 2000, with both of those being won by the All Blacks, in 2003 and 2006. Qantas Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans was coaching co-ordinator for the 2003 All Blacks who, in beating South Africa 52-16 at Loftus, inflicted the heaviest ever home defeat on the Springboks.

The following from SARU: Victor Matfield will be confronted by 30 000 lookalikes when he runs out at his beloved Loftus Versfeld in a special tribute on his 100^th Test cap on his home ground on Saturday.

The South African Rugby Union has manufactured 30 000 Victor Matfield masks to be distributed at the turnstiles for fans wear in a show of support for one of Pretoria’s favourite sons. The hope is that all supporters will be wearing theirs when Matfield runs on to the field just before 17h00 on Saturday.

Tickets for the match are still available from Loftus Versfeld and at Computicket priced at R350 (South Stand and behind the posts) and R450 (Eastern Stand).

“It is a very special coincidence that Victor should win his 100^th cap on the ground where he has led the Vodacom Bulls to so many titles and we thought we had to mark the occasion with some significant gesture,” said Johan Prinsloo, CEO of the South African Rugby Union.

“This is a novel idea but I’m sure that the public of Pretoria and all Springboks fans will want to turn out in their numbers and join in this initiative to visibly demonstrate their appreciation for a modern great of the game.”

Matfield has run out for the Pretoria team in more than 150 matches and captained them in half of them as the team has enjoyed a modern golden age, claiming the Vodacom Super Rugby title on three occasions in the last four years.

In addition he has been part of three of the Bulls’ hear decade-long run of success in the Absa Currie Cup and even curtailed a spell in France to return to the Springboks and Bulls.

“This is a very proud day for Loftus and all our supporters,” said Barend van Graan, CEO of the Blue Bulls Company. “To have our captain win his 100^th cap for the Springboks on his home ground makes it an unbelievable occasion for us and we will be making our own special presentation to Victor in due course.

“I would urge all our very loyal supporters to join us at the field on the day to roar the Springboks to victory in only the way that a Pretoria crowd can, as well as being present to share one of the greatest days of his career with our captain.”

In another unique feature of the day, popular former player Toks van der Linde will become the first Springbok to be the on-field anthem singer.

The former prop will be joined by professional singer Karen Ferreira in a rendition of Nkosi sikelei’ iAfrika.

Springbok team to face Wallabies: Loftus – 28 August 2010:

Springboks: 15. Frans Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit, 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Danie Rossouw, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Butch James, 22. Juan de Jongh

The thinking behind the selections:

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers says he had to make some tough choices when selecting the starting XV to face the Wallabies in a Vodacom Tri-Nations clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The starting line-up shows two changes from the one that went down 22-29 against the All Blacks last week with Frans Steyn starting at fullback in place of Gio Aplon and Jaque Fourie returning to replace Juan de Jongh.

De Jongh moves to the bench, in place of Wynand Olivier, whilst Aplon falls out of the match 22.

“How do you tell a guy who has played well that he is not part of the team, or is on the bench?” De Villiers lamented at a press conference in Pretoria on Monday.

“But that is part and parcel on my job as coach that sometimes I must make unpopular decisions. The reality is that there are only 15 places in the starting line-up and I have to do what I believe is best for the team.

“Juan (de Jongh) will be a great one day but Jaque Fourie is one already. He has played 60 Tests and, with the exception of his yellow card in Brisbane, has done well for us all season,” De Villiers said.

“Gio did not do anything wrong but we have an opportunity to see Frans play. He also offers us another kicking option which will take some pressure off Morné Steyn.”

Frans Steyn last played a Test against Wales in Cardiff on 5 June and rejoined the squad this week after being unavailable for the All Blacks Test. Fourie, meanwhile, returns from a four-week suspension after he was yellow-carded in the opening minutes of the previous clash with the Wallabies in Brisbane last month.

Juan Smith, who was the only injury concern after the All Blacks game, has been cleared and is included in the run-on XV.

There is one change amongst the reserves with Ryan Kankowski, who joined the squad on Monday, preferred as loose forward cover ahead of Francois Louw. Kankowski looked sharp for the Sharks in their win over Vodacom Western Province in the Absa Currie Cup last weekend and his speed could be a factor if he is used from the bench at the weekend.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Aplon, Olivier and Louw will be released to the provinces and will be available for Absa Currie Cup selection at the weekend.

Match facts and stats:

Victor Matfield will become only the third player to play 100 Tests for South Africa as the Springboks and Wallabies take each other on for the 70^th time since their first encounter in 1933 at Newlands.

Of the past 69 tests South Africa won 40, lost 28 and drawn one for a win percentage of 58%.

South Africa’s Vodacom Tri-Nations record against Australia is: Played 32; Won 17; Lost 14; Drawn 1. South Africa scored 62 tries and conceded 69.

Only four tests between the two rivals were played at this venue previously with South Africa triumphant on all four occasions. South Africa scored 117 and conceded 56 points for an average score of 29-14 at Loftus Versfeld.

Milestones and Record Watch:

• Victor Matfield will play his 100th test, only the third Springbok to achieve this milestone. This test will also be his 41st Vodacom Tri-Nations test, the joint second most capped player with George Smith of Australia. George Gregan is heading the list with 48 caps. He will also become the most capped Springbok against Australia in his 21^st test against the Aussies.
• John Smit will play in his 75^th test as captain. Should John score a try, he will equal the Springbok record for most tries in tests as a hooker. The current record is jointly held by James Dalton and Bismarck du Plessis with five career tries. John will be playing in his 27^th Vodacom Tri-Nations test as captain, the most capped captain in the tournament.
• Bryan Habana needs one try to become South Africa’s most prolific try scorer in tests. Bryan currently shares the record with Joost van der Westhuizen with 38 test tries. He needs two tries to equal Breyton Paulse’s career record of seven tries against Australia. Bryan is the most capped Springbok wing.
• Jaque Fourie will play in his 50^th test as centre, the first Springbok centre to achieve this milestone. He is also the top try scorer for the Springboks as a centre with 25 career tries.
• Frans Steyn needs one drop goal to become the sole Springbok record holder for most career drop goals against Australia. The current record is two, jointly held by Percy Montgomery, André Pretorius and Steyn.
• Morné Steyn is one of only eight players who scored more than 100 career points in the Vodacom Tri-Nations (134 in 10 appearances). Dan Carter tops the list with 426 points in 30 appearances. Morné needs one drop goal to equal André Pretorius’ tournament record of four career drop goals.
• Should CJ van der Linde score a try, he will equal the Springbok record for most tries in tests as a prop. The current record is jointly held by Chris Koch and Os du Randt with five career tries.
• Should Pierre Spies score a try, he will become the sole Springbok record holder for most tries in tests as an eighthman. The current record of six career tries is jointly held by Gary Teichmann, Joe van Niekerk, Bob Skinstad and Spies.
• The career record of tries scored in the Vodacom Tri-Nations is 16 by Christian Cullen. The most career tries by a Springbok are seven scored by Breyton Paulse, Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana. The most career tries for an Australian player in the tournament are nine by Stirling Mortlock.
• Alain Rolland of Ireland will officiate as referee in his 12^th test match involving South Africa. Only Paddy O’Brien from New Zealand officiated in 12 tests involving South Africa.

Other notable record holders are:

• Butch James: Most capped Springbok flyhalf – 34.
• John Smit: Most capped Springbok hooker – 85, most capped Springbok forward – 100.
• Victor Matfield: Most capped Springbok lock – 99.
• Schalk Burger: Most tries in tests as a flank – 12, also most capped Springbok flank – 59.

The following from SANZAR: Springbok and Vodacom Cheetahs flank Heinrich Brüssow will undergo follow-up surgery to his knee which will delay his return to playing. The operation, set to be performed on Tuesday afternoon, means Brüssow will be unavailable for selection for the Springbok tour to Europe in November.

Brüssow was assessed during the recent Springbok training camp in Johannesburg and it has been agreed that a second operation is needed in order to ensure that he is 100% fit and available for the 2011 season, which includes the Rugby World Cup.

Brüssow had surgery earlier this year after sustaining a severe knee injury in a Vodacom Super 14 match. The player ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament, tore both the lateral and medial meniscus,and tore the Medial Collateral Ligament and medial capsule.

Surgery on the major structures of the knee was successful but Springbok and Cheetahs medical staff have agreed that a follow-up operation is required to guarantee Brüssow’s long-term recovery, and to prevent further risk to damaging the successfully reconstructed cruciate ligament.

Thank the Lord! Now have the sense to play him!

Peter de Villiers seems to have made at least one good decision this year, as SARU announced the following today: Frans Steyn is back in the Springbok squad. The young fullback, who last featured in the Test against Wales in early June, rejoined the squad from Paris yesterday.

Steyn took part in the squad’s first practice session on Monday in advance of the Vodacom Tri-Nations clash with Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said he was glad to have Steyn back in the squad. De Villiers added that the perceived “saga” around the player was “all a matter of miscommunication”.

Steyn was called up to a Springbok training camp two weeks ago but was not released by his club Racing Metro after being injured in a warm-up game.  On-going liaison between SARU and Racing  Metro as well as the French Rugby Federation has now enabled Steyn to be released for International duty. Steyn turned out for his club last Friday and showed no effects of injury during the Pretoria session on Monday morning.

De Villiers would not speculate on what Steyn’s role might be in the match against the Wallabies.

“It is great to have Frans here and he is a great addition to our squad but we have a player in the position who did not do badly last weekend. We will sit and look at what will be best for the team this weekend and make it known when we confirm our team on Tuesday”.

Meanwhile de Villiers has made it clear that he wants to take action to avoid problems in future with the release of overseas-based players.

“After the Tri-Nations myself and Andy (Marinos) will travel to Europe to sit down with Racing Metro and Frans and discuss the way forward. We also plan to meet with Butch James’ club (Bath) and BJ Botha’s club (Ulster) to make sure that all parties are on the same page when it comes to the release of players for international duty,” de Villiers said.

“We have to get our ducks in a row to avoid causing disruptions to both the team and the players”.

Steyn, meanwhile, slotted in well with his team-mates at the Monday session and looked in good shape. He struck the ball well during the kicking session too.

“It’s great to be back in the squad,” he said.