WILLIE SE TYD UIT?

SPRINGBOK centurion Willie le Roux could be one of the groot casualties of a bumpy July Test schedule with coach Rassie Erasmus expected to name his squad for the Rugby Championship later today.

Erasmus was set to name a 36-man group for the Boks’ Tests against Australia yesterday. But a SA Rugby spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Voice that the announcement had been delayed.

Meanwhile, insiders also told the Daily Voice of Le Roux, who recently reached the milestone of 100 Test caps in the 45-0 mauling of Italy in Gqeberha, may be finding himself on the outskirts for the upcoming defence of South Africa’s Rugby Championship crown.

And with Damian Willemse and Aphele Fassi vying for the No.15 jersey, Le Roux looks to have fallen out of the pecking order.

Former Blitzbok captain and SuperSport pundit, Jonathan Mokuena, however, feels it will be a brave call to drop Le Roux.

Mokuena told the Daily Voice: “That would be a tough call because I think he is still someone who can add value to the current squad.

“If you take a look at the season he had with the Bulls, he had a low error rate, and for Rassie, that is usually a big yardstick in terms of what he wants to see from his fullbacks.

“I don’t know, it will be a really tough call.”  

Mokuena has given the Springboks a pass mark after their three incoming tour wins, saying attack coach Tony Brown has evolved the way Bok teams will be playing in future.

The University of Johannesburg Varsity Cup coach, however, has one concern as the Boks prepare to take on the southern hemisphere’s best, and said: “The breakdowns have been a worry for me though. It does not feel as if they are clinical enough.

"I know that is something that comes with the territory of trying to play a quicker game. So that is one area they’ll look at improving.”