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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Irish-based Springbok tighthead prop BJ Botha has been selected for the Barbarians squad to play their first ever match against the Wallabies in Australia.
The game is scheduled for June 6 in Sydney, marking Australia’s first international of the year.
Interestingly, it comes a fortnight before South Africa play the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Durban, so if Botha (Ulster) happened to play a blinder against such top-calibre opponents he could yet become a dark horse for involvement against the Lions at some stage of the series.
The former Sharks man is probably some way down the pecking order, of course, because Springbok coach Peter de Villiers still seems set on fielding captain and long-serving hooker John Smit at No 3 - a policy that has not found universal favour from domestic critics because of the fear that the Lions literally plan a big push at scrum-time against the Boks.
De Villiers also has Jannie du Plessis at his disposal, in terms of credible South African candidates from the Super 14, while Brian Mujati may be restored to full health after his concussion although he has been particularly disappointing for the embattled Stormers this year.
Botha is also seemingly behind another overseas-based tighthead, CJ van der Linde (Leinster) in the list of contenders; it is hoped that the burly former Cheetahs man will play a role in the Bok warm-up match in Windhoek on May 29, probably for the Namibian Invitation XV against his old colleagues.
But the latest news around Van der Linde’s fitness is far from promising: he was not able to feature in Leinster’s victory over Munster in the Heineken Cup semi-final last weekend because of an ongoing toe injury that has dogged him for some time.
Leinster coach Michael Cheika reported on the club’s website this week: “CJ is finished for this season. We have decided to just get him right and ready for next season.”
Whether that means Van der Linde is also out of Lions contention now is not yet clear.
So Botha may yet have a shock sniff at involvement in the three-Test series should things go pear-shaped for the Boks in the boiler room in the first encounter or two.
He is not the bulkiest No 3 in the world, but is considered a “scientific” scrummager who ought to be wiser from his experiences in the northern hemisphere environment, with its strong emphasis on the set-piece.
Botha has 18 Bok caps to his credit.
He is the only South African confirmed thus far for the Baa Baas outing against the Wallabies.
These are the names nailed down thus far:
Backs: Sonny Bill Williams (NZ), Justin Marshall (NZ), Geordan Murphy (IRE), Luke McAlister (NZ), Seilala Mapusua (SAM), Doug Howlett (NZ), Josh Lewsey (ENG), Iain Balshaw (ENG).
Forwards: BJ Botha (SA), Rocky Elsom (AUS), Jerry Collins (NZ), Martin Corry (ENG), Chris Jack (NZ), Serge Betsen (FRA), Justin Harrison (AUS), Sebastien Bruno (FRA).
Cape Town – Irish-based Springbok tighthead prop BJ Botha has been selected for the Barbarians squad to play their first ever match against the Wallabies in Australia.
The game is scheduled for June 6 in Sydney, marking Australia’s first international of the year.
Interestingly, it comes a fortnight before South Africa play the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Durban, so if Botha (Ulster) happened to play a blinder against such top-calibre opponents he could yet become a dark horse for involvement against the Lions at some stage of the series.
The former Sharks man is probably some way down the pecking order, of course, because Springbok coach Peter de Villiers still seems set on fielding captain and long-serving hooker John Smit at No 3 - a policy that has not found universal favour from domestic critics because of the fear that the Lions literally plan a big push at scrum-time against the Boks.
De Villiers also has Jannie du Plessis at his disposal, in terms of credible South African candidates from the Super 14, while Brian Mujati may be restored to full health after his concussion although he has been particularly disappointing for the embattled Stormers this year.
Botha is also seemingly behind another overseas-based tighthead, CJ van der Linde (Leinster) in the list of contenders; it is hoped that the burly former Cheetahs man will play a role in the Bok warm-up match in Windhoek on May 29, probably for the Namibian Invitation XV against his old colleagues.
But the latest news around Van der Linde’s fitness is far from promising: he was not able to feature in Leinster’s victory over Munster in the Heineken Cup semi-final last weekend because of an ongoing toe injury that has dogged him for some time.
Leinster coach Michael Cheika reported on the club’s website this week: “CJ is finished for this season. We have decided to just get him right and ready for next season.”
Whether that means Van der Linde is also out of Lions contention now is not yet clear.
So Botha may yet have a shock sniff at involvement in the three-Test series should things go pear-shaped for the Boks in the boiler room in the first encounter or two.
He is not the bulkiest No 3 in the world, but is considered a “scientific” scrummager who ought to be wiser from his experiences in the northern hemisphere environment, with its strong emphasis on the set-piece.
Botha has 18 Bok caps to his credit.
He is the only South African confirmed thus far for the Baa Baas outing against the Wallabies.
These are the names nailed down thus far:
Backs: Sonny Bill Williams (NZ), Justin Marshall (NZ), Geordan Murphy (IRE), Luke McAlister (NZ), Seilala Mapusua (SAM), Doug Howlett (NZ), Josh Lewsey (ENG), Iain Balshaw (ENG).
Forwards: BJ Botha (SA), Rocky Elsom (AUS), Jerry Collins (NZ), Martin Corry (ENG), Chris Jack (NZ), Serge Betsen (FRA), Justin Harrison (AUS), Sebastien Bruno (FRA).
