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Jannie de Beer the fan favourite
LONDON (AP) -- Jannie de Beer has drop kicked rival Henry Honiball out of contention for the Springboks starting lineup for Saturday's semifinal against Australia at Twickenham, according to opinion polls in South Africa.De Beer, who kicked a world-record five dropped goals in his 34-point haul in Sunday's 44-21 quarter-final win over England, is the overwhelming No. 1 choice of the fans.
A South Africa-based Internet poll indicated de Beer received almost 90 per cent of the votes in a survey asking which player should start against the Wallabies.
Only five per cent of respondents said Honiball should be first-choice flyhalf and five per cent were undecided.
Honiball, rated as the best flyhalf in the world last season, was sidelined during the Springboks Tri Nations campaign due to injury and was injured again before the opening World Cup game against Scotland.
He was named to the bench against England and was expected to be recalled for the semifinal before de Beer kicked his way back into public favour.
The South African selectors will announce their team on Thursday but coach Nick Mallett has already said he's almost certain to retain de Beer in the starting team.
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