I’d like to start by saying that inclusions in a 51 man squad are not worth discussing. Simply put, every man and his dog is selected. If there is anything to discuss, it’s the omissions. And considering that the foreign based players still need to be included, I can hardly spot any omissions that send out shock waves. The van den Heever, Ebersohn and Strauss families might be a little disappointed, but it’s almost not worth writing about.

What I do want to talk about is the loose forwards we should take to slow, wet New Zealand fields. In my mind, if I were selecting six loosies, I would take Brussow, Smith, Alberts, Burger, Vermeulen and Daniel. In that order. When the going gets tough in the tight I want hard carrying, hard hitting tough guys who will toil all day long for you. What we don’t need is racing snakes better suited to a 40 degree Bloemfontein test match against the Scottish. It is not as if Spies and Kankowski haven’t had the time to prove themselves – they have been given ample opportunity and the conditions simply won’t suit them. No doubt disappointing for both men, Kanko is gifted and in fairness hasn’t had a lot of starting chances, and Spies had the heartbreak of the medical condition that ruled him out of the 2007 RWC. Let’s hope that team politics allow the selectors to leave players out from the ruling junta.

While few will disagree with Brussow, Burger, Smith and Albert’s inclusion, let me explain Vermeulen and Daniel’s selection in my team. Vermeulen has been outstanding in contact since he first came onto the scene, and has gotten even better. He tackles beautifully and brings great mongrel quality to any side. He just needs to guard against ill-discipline. The slower fields will also dumb down his alleged deficiency. As for Keegan Daniel, he showed his undoubted class (again) in last year’s Currie Cup. Pound for pound the very toughest we have. He’s the kind of team man every side needs and he’s won often in New Zealand as a tourist.

So Alberts at eight is a no-brainer, with Burger off the bench. The only variation to this – and you might think it avant-garde – would be to play our best forward, Juan Smith, at four, and give Burger the blind side flank starting gig. This I will discuss in a few weeks when we look at our locking options, but I suggest it has great merit. Smith is a real lineout option as a two jumper, hits rucks like nobody’s business, gets great go forward and gives us an option similar to the one Andre Venter gave us 10 years ago, only better. Should we take Smith in this capacity, or should he not recover from his achilles woes, Francois Louw would become my sixth pick to join those mentioned above. Louw would be able to call himself unlucky in fact, were he not preferred to Daniel.

So which six loose forwards would you take to New Zealand? Could you think of anything better then Smith, Burger, Brussow and Alberts on the field at one time? What do you think our best starting combination is?

For more insight and opinion, follow Steve Morris on twitter.