FORM NOT reputation carried the weight when new Springboks coach Carel Du Plessis last night named the Springboks team and replacements to meet Tonga in Newlands next Tuesday. An additional six players were also named in what is the 27-man squad to prepare for the test series against the Lions.
Centre Hennie Le Roux and second row Kobus Wiese are not included in the 2110 face Tonga. They are also omitted from the 27-man squad which will stay together until the opening test against the Lions in Cape Town on June 21st.
Le Roux and Wiese were both members of the South African World Cup-winning side and first team regulars in the intervening period. Both players were also in the last South African team to play an international - against Wales in Cardiff in December.
A surprise of lesser dimension is the omission of hooker Henry Tromp from the 27.
There is only one new cap in the team to meet Tonga, centre Ed rich Lubbe (Griquas). Second row Mark Andrews, another World Cup player, is in the 27, but was not considered for the test against the Tongans as he has to prove his fitness because of a shoulder injury.
