Top All Blacks axed
The All Black rugby selectors showed a ruthlessness that their Springbok counterparts lacked when they named their 30-man Tri-Nations squad.
The cold decision to axe some All Black mainstays might be the difference between winning the Rugby World Cup and stumbling in the home stretch.
Wing Joe Rokocoko is only 28, has 68 Test caps and has scored 46 tries. But he was left out of the squad, as were flyhalf/centre Luke McAlister, wing Sitiveni Sivivatu and prop Neemia Tialata. It's unlikely any of them will make it to the World Cup as they have run out of games to impress, even though they share a combined 184 Test caps.
When it comes to wearing the silver fern, there is no room for sentiment and players deemed surplus, regardless of their reputations, are jettisoned unceremoniously.
Compared with the leniency shown to under-performing South African players when it comes to Springbok selection, the Kiwis have displayed a mentality associated with winning big tournaments.
Despite the overall poor form of several Bok stalwarts in the Super 15, most notably that of Bryan Habana and John Smit, they were rewarded with inclusion in a squad based on their reputations alone.
The pair, barring injury, will go to the World Cup, where they will hopefully rediscover the form that made them among the best in their positions in the world four years ago.
Rokocoko et al have been given no such luxury. They endured mediocre Super 15 campaigns (in the case of McAlister, not so mediocre) and paid the price, despite their well-deserved and hard-earned reputations.
By contrast Habana will have another chance in green and gold to prove his detractors wrong in the coming months even though there are currently more promising, in-form candidates, such as Lwazi Mvovo and Bjorn Basson, to do the job.
The latter pair will have first crack on the Tri-Nations, while Habana nurses a shoulder injury. But when it comes to the World Cup, both will lose out to the decorated Bok, regardless of what they do on the coming tour.
Similarly Smit, who will start on the away leg of the Tri-Nations while Bismarck du Plessis recovers from injury, is sure to be in any match-day squad during the World Cup.
Chiliboy Ralepelle, who has been a Bok for three years and has been the better player this season, will at best warm the bench during the Tri-Nations. At the World Cup, Ralepelle's appearances will in all likelihood be limited to a game against Namibia.
Experience is a key factor in winning World Cup trophies. That much has been repeatedly proven in the professional era. Australia in 1999, England in 2003 and the Springboks in 2007 all fielded their most experienced line-ups when winning the title. Striking the balance between experience and form is the hardest job of a selector.
Ultimately, the selectors on both sides have their reasons for the choices they have made, but at the very least, one set of selectors will be proven wrong.
CJ van der Linde and Gerhard Mostert were yesterday added to the Springbok squad. The prop and lock will cover injured players and a decision on whether they accompany the team to Australia will be taken later this week.