Bok captain Siya Kolisi is fit to tackle the All Blacks in Cape Town. (Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images)
- Siya Kolisi has passed his fitness protocols and will start for the Springboks against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday.
- Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux and Eben Etzebeth are also back in the starting XV.
- Canan Moodie will start at right wing, while Lukhanyo Am features on the bench which has a five-three forwards-backs split.
- For more news on the Springboks, visit our dedicated section.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has been declared fit to start in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town.
Kolisi took a heavy blow to the face in last weekend’s 31-27 win over New Zealand at Ellis Park, but he’ll start in the No 6 jersey at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
READ | Beauden Barrett benched as All Blacks shake up backline for Bok Test in Cape Town
Springbok management said Kolisi made it through all the training sessions this week, and was subsequently cleared to play.
There’s also a return to the starting XV for flyhalf Handre Pollard and fullback Willie le Roux, who start in place of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Aphelele Fassi respectively.
Canan Moodie also starts at right wing in place of Kurt-Lee Arendse, who failed an HIA test after a head knock.
In all, the Bok starting XV shows seven changes.
Grant Williams starts at scrumhalf in place of Cobus Reinach, while Jaden Hendrikse comes in on the bench as backup.
Veteran lock Eben Etzebeth is also promoted from the bench to start, with Pieter-Steph du Toit moving back to flank as Ben-Jason Dixon misses out.
The Boks have reverted to a traditional five-three forwards-backs split on the bench with Lukhanyo Am joining Hendrikse and Feinberg-Mngomezulu (utility back) among the backline replacements.
Teams:
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Lukhanyo Am
New Zealand
15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Beauden Barrett
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said he was delighted to see Kolisi recover in time.
“Siya is a world-class player and captain, and he adds immense value to the team with the way he leads by example and galvanises the team when the pressure is on.
“Similarly to the call we made with Eben last week, our team policy is that if a player trains on a Monday and gets through training during the week pain free, they can be selected for the weekend, and Siya did just that.
“Honesty from the players about whether they can play and deliver fully on what we expect from them is a key part of our team culture, so have full faith in Siya to give everything on the field,” said Erasmus.
Etzebeth, meanwhile, will close in on Victor Matfield’s record as the most capped Springbok (127 caps) when he plays his 126th Test, while Le Roux’s start will nudge him to only three Tests away from joining the select group of Springbok centurions.
But Erasmus was not focused on potential records. He was more focused on beating the All Blacks for the fourth time in a row (it would be the first such feat since 1949) and winning the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009.
“It would be fantastic to achieve that as a team, but if you look too far ahead it comes back to bite you,” said Erasmus.
“The focus for us all week is to try to deliver the best possible performance we can against New Zealand and to correct the wrongs of last week.
“New Zealand have not been the best team in the world for some many years for nothing. They’re a formidable team and they’ve shown in the past against us that you never write them off. We saw how they bounced back against Argentina after losing their first match of the tournament.
“They’ll also be motivated by the fact that Cape Town has been a good hunting ground for them; they’ll be inspired to make a strong statement this week.
“Like us, they’ve a lot to play for, so we know it’ll be as intense and as tight as it ever has been between us. It’s going to take another hard grind for the full 80 minutes.”
Meanwhile, the Boks released three players – Steven Kitshoff (prop), Dixon (flanker) and Makazole Mapimpi (winger) – to their provincial unions for more game time in the Currie Cup.
Mapimpi spent the week in KwaZulu-Natal for the birth of his child and will remain in the province where he will be available for selection for the Sharks XV for their game against the Bulls in Durban on Sunday.
Kitshoff, who recently returned to the field after recovering from a knee injury, and Dixon will return to Western Province to prepare for their match against Griquas on Friday.
Saturday’s Test at Cape Town Stadium kicks off at 17:00.
