Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a team featuring 10 changes to the starting XV for their second Rugby Championship match against Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.
Jesse Kriel leads the side for the second time in a Test, with returns for Cheslin Kolbe, Damian de Allende, and Bok centurion Willie le Roux.
Powerful prop Ox Nche will serve as Kriel’s vice-captain for the first time in his international career, which dates back to 2018 when he made his Springbok debut against Wales in Washington DC.
Only five players in the starting-15 retained their places from the team’s 38-22 defeat against the Wallabies in Johannesburg last week, while a total of 13 players were involved in the encounter at Ellis Park.
The five players who will start against Australia for the second week in a row are Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams, and Kriel – who takes over the captaincy from the injured Siya Kolisi – while Franco Mostert, Canan Moodie, Wilco Louw, Boan Venter, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, and Cobus Reinach are the other players who will get another run against the visitors.
Four players were ruled out of contention for selection due to injury, namely Kolisi (loose forward), Pieter-Steph du Toit (utility forward), and wings Kurt-Lee Arendse, Edwill van der Merwe.
The only change to Erasmus’ front row was the inclusion of prop Thomas du Toit, who will pack down alongside Nche and Marx, while the Bok coach named a new lock pairing of RG Snyman and Ruan Nortje. Van Staden, meanwhile, will form a loose trio with Franco Mostert and Jean-Luc du Preez.
More to follow
Springbok team to face Australia in Cape Town:
15 Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 100 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 15 caps, 35 pts (7t)
13 Jesse Kriel (captain, Canon Eagles) – 81 caps, 95 points (19t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 89 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 41 caps, 111 points (18t, 3c, 5p)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 82 caps, 797 points (7t, 116c, 168p, 5dg)
9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 20 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles) – 14 caps 10 points (2t)
7 Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 80 caps, 20 points (4t)
6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 28 caps, 15 pts (3t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 0 pts
4 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 42 caps, 10 points (2t)
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 25 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 79 caps, 115 pts (23t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 42 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets) – 1 cap, 10 points (2t)
17 Boan Venter (Edinburgh) – 2 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps, 0 pts
19 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 134 caps, 35 points (7t)
20 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 68 caps, 25 points (5t)
21 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 54 caps, 45 points (9t)
22 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 41 caps, 70 pts (14t)
23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 10 caps, 54 points (15c, 8p)
Facts and Stats
Head-to-head v Australia:
Played 96; Won 52; Lost 41; Drawn 3; Points for: 1 945, Points against: 1 710; Tries scored 230, Tries conceded 177; Highest score 61-22 (Pretoria, 1997); Biggest win 45 points (53-8, Johannesburg 2008). Win % 54.2%.
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