Rassie Erasmus opted against making too many major changes to the Springbok team that will face Italy this Saturday, but there were a couple of big takeaways from the team announcement made on Tuesday.
With Siya Kolisi still struggling with an injury, the expectation would have been for past captains such as Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard or Bongi Mbonambi to take over the leadership responsibilities.
Instead, Erasmus has stuck with Jesse Kriel to captain the side for the first time in a Test match.
“If one goes through this team, there are so many leaders, but we were impressed with how Jesse accepted the responsibility of wearing the captain’s armband last week (against the Barbarians),” the Springbok coach commented.
“He is a player who leads by example on and off the field, and he thoroughly deserves this honour.”
Rassie opted against any other major Springbok surprises
Even though Erasmus has made it clear that he will be trying out a number of newcomers this season, there will only be one Test debutant this Saturday as Vincent Tshituka starts at blindside flank in the absence of Pieter-Steph du Toit.
“Vincent has fitted into our structures really well and he showed last week that he has the potential to play Test rugby, so we are excited to see what he can do against Italy and to see him make his debut,” said the Bok coach.
Erasmus opted for a split of six forwards and two backs on the replacements bench, where experienced hooker Bongi Mbonambi will provide front row cover with props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Vincent Koch, along with lock RG Snyman and utility forwards Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith.
The two backline players on the bench are Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux, who will earn his 99th Test cap if he takes the field, taking him one Test closer to joining the exclusive club of Springbok centurions.
“We have a big squad, and we would like to balance the game time within the group, while at the same time maintaining continuity in selection, and we believe this is the team that will be best suited for what we want to achieve against Italy,” said Erasmus.
“We are also fortunate to have a few experienced players back from injury, who will be keen to make their mark in the game.”
SPRINGBOKS – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux.
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