TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus rang the changes for the Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
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Jasper Wiese makes his first appearance of the season in a team featuring a new locking combination for the Round Three encounter.
Erasmus made nine changes to the team that defeated the Wallabies in Perth (30-12), recalling Wiese from suspension and pairing Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje in the second row as a result of injuries to six other locks for the first of two Tests against the All Blacks in South Africa.
However, there are only three changes to the match day squad that opened the series with a 33-7 victory in Brisbane – and two of those forced by injuries to locks.
Eben Etzebeth (back) and Salmaan Moerat (concussion) miss out from the Brisbane combination while Aphelele Fassi gets the fullback’s jersey in succession to Willie le Roux in the only other change. The other locks unavailable for selection are RG Snyman (foot), Franco Mostert (broken leg), Lood de Jager (shoulder) and Jean Kleyn (eye and knee).
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“It’s not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan stood his man in our last match and we are confident that he’ll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock,” said Erasmus.
“This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.
“It’s also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back and we know that he’ll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field, and we are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.
“We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black backline.
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“We’ve seen what most of these players can do under pressure in Australia, and we’re confident that they’ll want to build on that against the All Blacks.”
The pack shows six changes to the starting line-up that appeared in Perth with a new front row of Ox Nche (promoted from the bench in Perth) and the recall of the rested Frans Malherbe and hooker Bongi Mbonambi.
Pieter-Steph du Toit moves from the side of the scrum to partner Nortje while Wiese is joined in the back row by Bok captain Siya Kolisi and Ben-Jason Dixon, who has recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the Perth Test.
In the backline, Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu reunite at halfback, while Erasmus recalled Damian de Allende to partner Jesse Kriel at centre, with Kurt-Lee Arendse also back in the team, linking up with Cheslin Kolbe and Fassi in the back three.
Erasmus’ bench – which features a split of six forwards and two backs – will see Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch in the replacement front row, while Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden and the energetic Kwagga Smith will offer the team solid loose forward cover options.
The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Handre Pollard, who offer an array of options, covering scrumhalf, wing, centre and flyhalf between them.
The squad features 12 players who appeared in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris in October, as Erasmus’ balanced building squad depth while maintaining some consistency in selection. They are Kolisi, Nche, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Du Toit, Wiese, Arendse, De Allende, Kriel, Kolbe, Smith, and Pollard.
Wiese was deemed match ready, having been training with the team since the beginning of June at the first training camp in Pretoria, while Erasmus opted to give Steven Kitshoff (prop), Canan Moodie (wing), Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf) and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) more time to adjust to the new structures.
The Bok coach was confident that the lock injury situation would ease in the next week and said: “Eben may have been ready to play this week if we really needed him, but we feel we will benefit more from selecting a player that is 100% fit, and Salmaan should also be back in selection frame next week after following the return to play protocols.
“We’re happy that things will ease significantly for us in that department going into the second Test.”
Erasmus said he expected an immensely physical approach from the All Blacks who have an impressive winning record of three wins in their last four outings at Emirates Airline Park, with winning margins of seven points or more on each occasion.
“We’ve no doubt they’ll come out guns blazing,” he said. “They’ll want to build winning momentum after bouncing back against Argentina following their disappointing opening game, and the rivalry between the Boks and All Blacks will motivate them even more.
“There is also no doubt they’ll still be hurting from the World Cup Final, and in addition to that they know how important a win will be to square things up and open up the Rugby Championship log.
“They’re a quality team with several players who have an X-factor and they constantly pose a threat to our defence, so we have to start well and be on the top of our game in all departments to try to build on what we have done in the competition so far.
“We’re under no illusions that this will be a completely different challenge to that which Australia posed, and that the next two Tests will require a proper step-up from us, but we are excited to see if we can take our game to the next level and give ourselves the best possible chance to stake a claim for the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.
“So, we’ll give our best and hopefully that will place us on the correct side of the scoreboard.”
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 – Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard.
Date: Saturday, August 31
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT; 03.00 NZST Sunday, September 1)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England) and Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
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