Veteran Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth. (Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
- Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has been declared fit and will feature on the bench in Saturday’s clash against New Zealand in Johannesburg.
- Etzebeth replaces Marco van Staden on the Bok bench.
- Meanwhile, the Boks also released four players – Steven Kitshoff, Manie Libbok, Canan Moodie and Makazole Mapimpi – for Currie Cup duty.
- For more news on the Springboks, visit our dedicated section.
Veteran lock Eben Etzebeth has been drafted into the Springbok match-day squad for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
Etzebeth wasn’t named in the initial Bok team named on Tuesday due to a knee niggle, but subsequent fitness tests allowed the Boks to bring him in on the bench.
Etzebeth’s presence means Marco van Staden, who was initially named on the bench, misses out. This offers the Boks specialist lock cover for the starting combination of Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje.
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Should he get game time, Etzebeth will play his 125th Test which will see him leapfrog Bryan Habana as the second most capped Springbok of all time and take one step closer to Victor Matfield’s Springbok Test record of 127 caps.
“Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco,” said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus.
“There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team.
“We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what’s best for the team, and it’s admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is.”
Meanwhile, Erasmus also released four players – Steven Kitshoff (prop), Manie Libbok (flyhalf), Canan Moodie and Makazole Mapimpi (both wings) – to their provincial unions to get game time in the Currie Cup this weekend.
Saturday’s Test kicks off at 17:00.
Updated Springbok team:
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, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard
