South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has included six uncapped players in his squad for his side to face a Namibia XV on 29 May. The Springboks have called up Steven Sykes, Jean Deysel, Wian du Preez, Jano Vermaak, Morgan Newman and Earl Rose for their only pre-Lions warm-up game. Established stars like captain John Smit, flanker Schalk Burger and wing JP Pietersen are also in the 23-man squad. The Springboks do have a possible weak link as they miss most first choice 10’s. The other factor is that Bulls players were not considered for selection because of their involvement in the latter stages of the Super 14.
Training squad:
Backs: Odwa Ndungane, Jongi Nokwe, JP Pietersen, Jean de Villiers, Adi Jacobs, Morgan Newman, Peter Grant, Earl Rose, Ricky Januarie, Jano Vermaak
Forwards: Ryan Kankowski, Juan Smith, Heinrich Brussow, Jean Deysel, Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Johan Muller, Steven Sykes, John Smit, Adriaan Strauss, Bismarck Du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira, Wian Du Preez.