Springbok flyhalf Damian Willemse in action during their Rugby Championship Test match against Australia Springbok flyhalf Damian Willemse in action during their Rugby Championship Test match against Australia. Photo: Dan Himbrechts/EPA
Johannesburg — It's been an interesting year for the Springboks.
While they won the Incoming Series against Wales 2-1, it wasn't a run of Tests in which they produced their best performances. The series could have gone either way, really.
Then there was the Rugby Championship, and frustration and missed opportunities were by-products again.
The Boks finished second, but they could have lifted the trophy had it not been for a disappointing result against eventual winners New Zealand at Ellis Park.
Yes, the results came at times this season, but there has been too much erraticism, and the Boks will surely be out to impress and gain some consistency during the End-of-Year Tour as they prepare for next year's World Cup in France.
The world champions begin their tour of the UK on November 5 against Ireland in Dublin. They will then take on France in Marseille on November 12, Italy in Genoa on November 19 and England in London on November 26.
The SA 'A' group will also play two mid-week matches — against Munster on Thursday, November10 and the Bristol Bears a week later (November17).
Jacques Nienaber and Springbok director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, will name the Springbok and SA 'A' squads on Friday, and over the weekend, it was announced that Manie Libbok, Sacha Mngomezulu and Evan Roos would join the Bok squad in Stellenbosch following their United Rugby Championship (URC) overseas tour.
So, with a big tour coming up, here are four players I'm looking forward seeing in the green and gold, be it for the Springboks or SA 'A'.
Evan Roos
The brilliant Stormers No 8 made his Springbok debut against Wales in Bloemfontein in July, but since then, he hasn't been given another opportunity to take his barnstorming play to the Test arena.
That will hopefully change next month, and while it has been impossible to miss Roos' freakish abilities on the URC scene, seeing him produce a refresher of that talent in the national jumper is a salivating prospect.
Manie Libbok
There has been no better flyhalf on the domestic scene than Libbok.
Forget about his shaky URC performance in Cardiff, the 25-year-old has been consistently sensational for the Stormers, playing an instrumental role in their success last season and picking up right where he left off in the second edition of the competition.
How good would it be to see him get a go on the national stage?
Damian Willemse
Willemse is an exciting one for a different reason.
Unlike Roos and Libbok, who we can be amped to see from an "inexperienced" point of view, the Stormers utility back has bossed every single role he's played for the Boks — from fullback to inside centre to flyhalf.
There are no more boxes for him to tick ... other than just continuing to deliver the goods wherever he finds himself.
Seeing his non-stop growth as an international player has been one of this season's highlights.
Cheslin Kolbe
It's been a while since the electric back has been in action, having been out since mid-July with a fractured jaw, but he wasted no time in making an impact as he returned to play.
Kolbe scored two minutes into his return from injury to help his French Top 14 club Toulon thrash Brive 47-0 at the weekend.
Seeing him fly in the Bok jersey again — especially knowing that he's well aware of the wingers who have left massive impressions after making their Test bows — will be a moment to savour.
IOL Sport
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