The inclusion of uncapped Morne Steyn in the South Africa squad to face the British and Irish Lions in the three-match Test series starting later this month has been welcomed by vice-captain Victor Matfield.
The Bulls outhalf was one of the stand-out players as his side claimed the Super 14 title for the second time in three years on Saturday and his form, coupled with injuries to other key Springboks, means he is likely to start against the tourists in the first Test on June 20th.
Steyn was one of two uncapped players - the other being Golden Lions full-back Earl Rose - named by national coach Peter de Villiers in his 28-man squad yesterday and, with regular number 10 Ruan Pienaar facing a race against time to be fit, Matfield believes his provincial team-mate could be an important part of the team.
"We're very happy for Morne," he said. "He really played well at the Bulls and had a big, big contribution to what we've done at the end there."
Coach De Villiers agreed, saying: "Morne Steyn earned his spot by performing week in, week out, he had an outstanding Super 14. If we can maintain the form shown by the Blue Bulls, even 20 per cent less, then we will be unbeatable."
But Matfield does not believe that Steyn's inclusion in the starting XV is a foregone conclusion.
He continued: "He will still have to perform well to get that starting spot. A guy like Ruan was very good at the end-of-year tour last year.
"So it's great that there's competition. Everyone is pressed by someone and the more the competition, the better the guys will play."
The team, which will be led by veteran captain John Smit, includes 10 players from the Bulls' victorious Super 14 squad and 25 members of the party that toured Wales, Scotland and England at the end of last year.
It also includes prop Deon Carstens and centre Wynand Olivier, both of whom last played for the national team in 2007.
Olivier was another key player for the Super 14 champions, but the skipper Matfield brushed aside suggestions that players from his Bulls side will suffer from fatigue.
He added: "It's been a tough 14-15 weeks, but we have a little break now. We're going away after tonight, we got a little break, which is 10 days off and then join up with the squad again on Tuesday.
"So we'll go away and relax a little bit and when we do get back together, I'm sure the focus will be there. It's such a big thing this whole Lions tour, so we'll quickly forget about all the sore body parts and just get on with it.
"Look, we're all really excited now. The Lions are really going to be tough, but we have an awesome team with a lot of experience, so it should all bode well for us."
