Bok pivot Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. (Anton Geyser/Gallo Images)
- The Springboks have made several changes for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
- The world champions are without veteran lock Eben Etzebeth, while there is a welcome return for Jasper Wiese at No 8.
- Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Aphelele Fassi are retained at No 10 and No 15 respectively.
- For more news on the Springboks, visit our dedicated section.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has several changes to his team for Saturday’s Rugby Championship encounter against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
In all, there are nine changes to the team that beat the Wallabies 30-12 in Perth.
The Boks are without veteran lock Eben Etzebeth, who is sidelined with a back injury. Salmaan Moerat, who the was captain the Perth Test but left the field injured due to concussion, is also unavailable.
As such, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje will form the lock combination.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also retains the No 10 jumper, with Handre Pollard staying on the bench, while Aphelele Fassi is retained at fullback ahead of Willie le Roux.
There is also a welcome return from suspension for Jasper Wiese, who will start at No 8.
READ | Springboks v All Blacks at Ellis Park: It’s 5-5 head-to-head since readmission
The Bok pack shows six
changes to the starting line-up that appeared in Perth with a new front row of
Ox Nche and the recall of the rested Frans
Malherbe and Bongi Mbonambi.
Du Toit
moves from the side of the scrum to partner Nortje, while Wiese is joined in the loose trio by 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, Erasmus
also ecalled 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.
Springbok team to face All Blacks:
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 Marco van Staden, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard
The other locks
unavailable for selection are RG Snyman (foot), Franco Mostert (broken leg),
Lood de Jager (shoulder) and Jean Kleyn (eye and knee).
“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.
“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 Bok bench – which
features a six-two forwards-backs split – will see Malcolm Marx, Gerhard
Steenekamp and Vincent Koch ar front row replacements, while Elrigh Louw,
Marco van Staden and Kwagga Smith will offer loose
forward cover options.
The two backline
players on the bench are the versatile Grant Williams and Pollard, who between them will cover scrumhalf, wing, centre and flyhalf.
The squad features
12 players who appeared in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand in Paris last October. They are Kolisi, Nche,
Mbonambi, Malherbe, Du Toit, Wiese, Arendse, De Allende, Kriel, Kolbe, Smith,
and Pollard.
Wiese was deemed
match fit, having trained with the team since the beginning of June, 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.
Erasmus said he was
confident that the lock crisis would ease somewhat next week.
“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,” said Erasmus.
Saturday’s Test kicks off at 17:00.
