De Villiers back to lead springboks in Rugby Championship

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has recovered from the knee injury which kept him out of the June Tests and is back in the national squad for the forthcoming Rugby Championship.

De Villiers is one of six players returning from injury after missing the entire or a part of the Incoming Series.

The others are Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Frans Malherbe (prop), Eben Etzebeth (lock), Patrick Lambie (flyhalf/fullback) and Damian de Allende (centre).

De Allende, who was forced to withdraw from the squad in June because of a knee ligament injury, and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach are the only two uncapped players in the 30-man Springbok squad.

The national selectors have also retained four debutants from the June series for the Rugby Championship - Cornal Hendricks (wing), Teboho "Oupa" Mohoje (loose forward), Lood de Jager (lock) and Handré Pollard (flyhalf).

"It's great to have Jean back to lead the side in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship," said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

"Victor Matfield and Jan Serfontein both did superbly well in his absence, but he is our captain and I'm sure he will slot back into the side without any difficulty. The same goes for Eben, Frans and Patrick, all of whom have been part of the squad before.

Meyer said all the players would be medically assessed when the squad assembled in Johannesburg next week.

"This will not only include the players who missed the June Tests because of injury, but also someone such as Mtawarira, who has been out of action for a while. We will deal with every player and his needs individually." Meyer was pleased he was able to include Hendricks, Mohoje, De Jager and Pollard in his squad.

"These players have impressed from the first minute they joined us. This is a step up for all of them, but that is the kind of challenge we thrive on," he said.

"It's never easy cutting a squad down in size and we're fortunate that we have a number of experienced players who will be on stand-by should their services be needed."

The coach said he is looking forward to the start of the Rugby Championship, which kicks off on August 16 when Australia host New Zealand in Sydney and the Springboks take on Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

The Springbok squad will gather in Johannesburg for a pre-competition five-day camp starting on Monday, and then again on August 10 in Pretoria, where they will prepare for the Test against Argentina.

"We've been steadily improving over the past two years but another step-up is needed this season," said Meyer.

"It's been a theme for us since the start of the season and we must simply keep on accelerating in the coming two months.

"Winning matches and scoring tries remain foremost in our minds. During the four matches in June, we scored 23 tries, which we were very happy with.

"I think we can be proud of the rugby we played against Wales and Scotland, but that is in the past now and we have a new competition to get ready for."

Meyer said there was plenty areas to work on ahead the Rugby Championship and his side would be up for the challenge.

Two senior Springboks who will play in Japan in the coming months, JP Pietersen and Schalk Burger, were not considered for the start of the competition. They have to report to their respective clubs next week.

"Obviously the squad can change during the course of the Rugby Championship and although JP and Schalk were not considered at this stage, they could still feature later in the competition," said Meyer.

Injured players who were not available for selection after featuring in 2013 or earlier in 2014, were Flip van der Merwe (knee), Pieter-Steph du Toit (knee), Arno Botha (knee), Pierre Spies (bicep), Fourie du Preez (ankle) and Jaque Fourie (ankle).

Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship: Willem Alberts, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Brits, Marcell Coetzee, Damian De Allende, Lodewyk de Jager, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Bryan Habana, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Hougaard, Patrick Lambie, Willie le Roux, Francois Louw, Frans Malherbe,Victor Matfield, Teboho "Oupa" Mohoje, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Trevor Nyakane, Ruan Pienaar, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach,Jan Serfontein, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Duane Vermeulen.