Lions captain Francke Horn and star midfielder Henco van Wyk were desperately unlucky to miss out on selection to the first Springbok squad of the season, and a chance to feature in the South Africa A game against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha next week.
The first Bok squad of the year was announced on Saturday night, featuring 51 players, of which 21 are uncapped.
Ten of them are also in the national squad for the Junior World Championship, and it is unlikely that they will feature for the Boks against the Barbarians, or SA A against Zimbabwe, with the junior side heading to Georgia later this month to defend their title.
So it was strange to see Horn and Van Wyk miss out on selection, when they could definitely benefit from this experience, and with both having been invited to the second Bok alignment camp.
Top performer
Horn has been a top performer for the Lions for a number of seasons now, and even raised his game this past campaign while captaining his team to the United Rugby Championship play-offs for the first time, so it is a shame he won’t be rewarded.
Van Wyk’s omission is even stranger, as a few years ago he was heavily admired by Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, who was eager to get him into the national team fold, only for a slew of injuries to stop what surely would have been a Springbok debut back in 2024.
This season has seen Van Wyk finally get a solid run in the Lions team after those injury disruptions, and has looked to be getting back to his best, and he would definitely add value to the Bok group.
Horn is 27 and Van Wyk 25, so both can still force themselves into the national team mix in the future, but it is unlikely to be in 2027 which is a World Cup year, and as they get older the chances of breaking into the group to become Bok regulars gets slimmer.
They weren’t the only unlucky players to miss out, with Lions flyhalf Chris Smith, who enjoyed a terrific season and was a big reason for much of their success, and Stormers lock Ruben van Heerden both omitted when they would have been worthy inclusions.
