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Promising young flyhalf Curwin Bosch, No 8 Dan du Preez and fullback Warrick Gelant were on Saturday included in the 34-man Springbok squad for the start of the 2017 Rugby Championship campaign. Springbok coach, Allister Coetzee, said he is pleased with the largely unchanged squad, who beat the French 3-0 in their June incoming Test series. The coach praised the good form of the Bok players during the French series and the Super Rugby, which saw three South African teams make the playoffs and the Lions reaching the final. The Springbok group gets together on Tuesday, 8 August in Port Elizabeth to start their preparations for the 2017 campaign, which kicks off their on 19 August against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium "All of the Springboks who were in action in the June Tests and the latter part of the Super Rugby campaign played very well and I have no doubt that they will bring that form with them when we assemble," explained Coetzee. "Some players have initially missed out on selection due to various reasons, but this squad is not cast in stone and changes can be made as we progress through the tournament. "I always said it must be difficult for a player to force himself into the squad, and I am really pleased that through their performances they have again earned selection to the Springbok group."  The uncapped trio of Bosch, Du Preez and Gelant, as well as experienced prop Trevor Nyakane, flanker Uzair Cassiem and flyhalf Handré Pollard are the only players in the squad that were not part of the Springboks' 3-0 Test series win over France in June. Coetzee emphasised that the Rugby Championship will pose a different challenge to the Boks over the next two months. "The next six contests will be completely different to what we faced against France in June," said the Bok coach. " We will have to work even harder to meet these tough challenges against the Pumas, Wallabies and All Blacks. Thorough preparation is once again crucial to our campaign and I am therefore pleased that we could manage to work with some of the players in Stellenbosch last week as those players would have been out of action for almost a month by the time we assemble in Port Elizabeth." Gelant impressed for the SA 'A' team against the French Barbarians in June and has been performing consistently well for the Vodacom Bulls this year, especially during the latter part of Vodacom Super Rugby. The 20-year old Bosch had a similar good season with the Cell C Sharks and the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship. "Warrick is a good attacking player that finishes his try scoring opportunities well. Curwin has shown a lot of promise when playing fullback and flyhalf, and has exceptional kicking abilities, while Dan has performed consistently well for the Cell C Sharks. We will introduce them to the Springbok environment and I am looking forward to working with all three," said Coetzee.  The inclusion of Pollard is to monitor his rehabilitation and conditioning first-hand, and also to assess his return to play protocol. The 23-year-old flyhalf has earned 20 Bok caps already, but he missed the entire 2016 season because of a knee injury and saw limited Super Rugby action this year because of his ankle injury. He attended the camp in Stellenbosch, where he took part in some training sessions and also did extra rehabilitation and fitness exercises under the supervision of the Springbok medical and conditioning team. No 8 Warren Whiteley was withdrawn because of his groin injury, which will most likely keep him out of action for six more weeks. Whiteley captained the Boks in the first two Test against France and missed the final match in Johannesburg because of his groin problem, which also forced him to miss the rest of the Super Rugby campaign. "Warren's absence is a massive blow for the Springboks and for him personally. I really feel for him but I am sure he will get back stronger. It gives an opportunity for another player now and I am sure there will be very strong competition for the No 8 jersey." SPRINGBOK SQUAD Forwards (19): Uzair Cassiem (flank/No 8), Toyota Cheetahs - 1 cap, 5 points (1 try) Lood de Jager (lock), Vodacom Bulls - 29 caps, 20 points (4 tries) Dan du Preez (No 8), Cell C Sharks - uncapped Jean-Luc du Preez (loose forward), Cell C Sharks - 4 caps, 0 points Pieter-Steph du Toit (lock), DHL Stormers - 23 caps, 15 points (3 tries) Eben Etzebeth (lock), DHL Stormers - 57 caps, 15 points (3 tries) Lizo Gqoboka (prop), Vodacom Bulls - uncapped Steven Kitshoff (prop), DHL Stormers - 13 caps, 0 points Siya Kolisi (flank), DHL Stormers - 19 caps, 5 points (1 try) Jaco Kriel (loose forward), Emirates Lions/Kubota Spears (Jap) - 8 caps, 0 points Frans Malherbe (prop), DHL Stormers - 17 caps, 0 points Malcolm Marx (hooker), Emirates Lions - 5 caps, 5 points (1 try) Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), DHL Stormers - 8 caps; 0 points Oupa Mohoje (loose forward), Toyota Cheetahs - 17 tests, 0 points Franco Mostert (lock), Emirates Lions/Ricoh Black Rams (Jap) - 10 caps, 0 points Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Cell C Sharks - 90 caps, 10 points (2 tries) Trevor Nyakane (prop), Vodacom Bulls - 28 - 5 points (1 try) Coenie Oosthuizen (prop), Cell C Sharks - 26 caps, 20 points (4 tries) Chiliboy Ralepelle (hooker), Cell C Sharks - 22 caps, 5 points (1 try) Backs (15): Curwin Bosch (flyhalf), Cell C Sharks - uncapped Andries Coetzee (fullback), Emirates Lions - 3 caps, 0 points Ross Cronje (scrumhalf), Emirates Lions - 2 caps, 5 points (1 try) Damian de Allende (centre), DHL Stormers - 22 Caps, 15 points (3 tries) Warrick Gelant (fullback), Vodacom Bulls - uncapped Francois Hougaard (scrumhalf), Worcester (England) - 42 caps, 25 points (5 tries) Elton Jantjies (flyhalf), Emirates Lions/NTT Shining Arcs (Jap) - 14 caps, 130 points (1 try, 22 conversions, 27 penalties) Jesse Kriel (centre), Vodacom Bulls - 19 caps, 25 points (5 tries) Dillyn Leyds (utility back), DHL Stormers - 3 caps, 0 points Rudy Paige (scrumhalf), Vodacom Bulls - 8 caps, 5 points (1 try) Handré Pollard (flyhalf), Vodacom Bulls - 20 caps, 188 points (2 tries, 29 con, 37 pen, 3 dropkicks) Raymond Rhule (wing), Toyota Cheetahs - 3 caps 0 points Jan Serfontein (centre), Vodacom Bulls - 29 caps, 20 points (4 tries) Courtnall Skosan (wing), Emirates Lions - 3 caps 0 pints Francois Venter (centre), Toyota Cheetahs - 3 caps, 0 points
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