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Cape Town - There are three contracted and eligible Springboks who failed to make the cut for Heyneke Meyer's Rugby Championship squad.
When Meyer named his squad for the competition at the weekend, he included 12 out of the 18 contracted Springboks in his squad.
The three unlucky and fit players who failed to make the cut are Cheetahs prop Coenie Oosthuizen, Stormers loose forward Siya Kolisi and Bulls centre JJ Engelbrecht.
Flip van der Merwe (injury), JP Pietersen (club commitments in Japan) and Frans Steyn (dispute with SARU) are the other contracted Boks not in the squad.
Oosthuizen has lost form after a failed experiment to play him at tighthead, while Kolisi and Engelbrecht also had indifferent seasons to date.
The unwanted trio will now play Currie Cup rugby to try and regain some of the form which saw them become Springboks in the first place.
The Boks start their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on August 16.
Contracted Springboks for 2014:
Willem Alberts, Jean de Villiers, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Tendai Mtawarira, Frans Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee, JJ Engelbrecht, Francois Hougaard, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Coenie Oosthuizen, Flip van der Merwe, JP Pietersen
The Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship 2014:
Forwards (17)
Willem Alberts, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Brits, Marcell Coetzee, Lodewyk de Jager, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Francois Louw, Frans Malherbe, Victor Matfield, Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje, Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen
Backline (13)
Damian de Allende, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bryan Habana, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Hougaard, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Jan Serfontein, Morné Steyn
The full Rugby Championship schedule for 2014 is (SA kick-off times):
Round 1 - August 16
12:05: Australia v New Zealand (ANZ Stadium, Sydney)
17:05: Springboks v Argentina (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Round 2 - August 23
09:35: New Zealand v Australia (Eden Park, Auckland)
21;40 (16h40 local time): Argentina v Springboks (Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta)
Round 3 - September 6
09:35: New Zealand v Argentina (MacLean Park, Napier)
12:10 (18h10 local time): Australia v Springboks (Patersons Stadium, Perth)
Round 4 - September 13
09:35 (19h35 local time) New Zealand v Springboks (Westpac Stadium, Wellington)
12:05: Australia v Argentina (Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast)
Round 5 - September 27
17:05: Springboks v Australia (Newlands, Cape Town)
TBC: Argentina v New Zealand (Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata)
Round 6 - October 4
17:05: Springboks v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
00:40 (Sunday, 5 October): Argentina v Australia (Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza)
When Meyer named his squad for the competition at the weekend, he included 12 out of the 18 contracted Springboks in his squad.
The three unlucky and fit players who failed to make the cut are Cheetahs prop Coenie Oosthuizen, Stormers loose forward Siya Kolisi and Bulls centre JJ Engelbrecht.
Flip van der Merwe (injury), JP Pietersen (club commitments in Japan) and Frans Steyn (dispute with SARU) are the other contracted Boks not in the squad.
Oosthuizen has lost form after a failed experiment to play him at tighthead, while Kolisi and Engelbrecht also had indifferent seasons to date.
The unwanted trio will now play Currie Cup rugby to try and regain some of the form which saw them become Springboks in the first place.
The Boks start their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on August 16.
Contracted Springboks for 2014:
Willem Alberts, Jean de Villiers, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Tendai Mtawarira, Frans Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee, JJ Engelbrecht, Francois Hougaard, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Coenie Oosthuizen, Flip van der Merwe, JP Pietersen
The Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship 2014:
Forwards (17)
Willem Alberts, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Brits, Marcell Coetzee, Lodewyk de Jager, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Francois Louw, Frans Malherbe, Victor Matfield, Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje, Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen
Backline (13)
Damian de Allende, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bryan Habana, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Hougaard, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Jan Serfontein, Morné Steyn
The full Rugby Championship schedule for 2014 is (SA kick-off times):
Round 1 - August 16
12:05: Australia v New Zealand (ANZ Stadium, Sydney)
17:05: Springboks v Argentina (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Round 2 - August 23
09:35: New Zealand v Australia (Eden Park, Auckland)
21;40 (16h40 local time): Argentina v Springboks (Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta)
Round 3 - September 6
09:35: New Zealand v Argentina (MacLean Park, Napier)
12:10 (18h10 local time): Australia v Springboks (Patersons Stadium, Perth)
Round 4 - September 13
09:35 (19h35 local time) New Zealand v Springboks (Westpac Stadium, Wellington)
12:05: Australia v Argentina (Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast)
Round 5 - September 27
17:05: Springboks v Australia (Newlands, Cape Town)
TBC: Argentina v New Zealand (Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata)
Round 6 - October 4
17:05: Springboks v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
00:40 (Sunday, 5 October): Argentina v Australia (Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza)
