Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has named his squad to face the All Blacks in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in Cape Town on Saturday.
Seven changes have been made to the outfit that defeated the All Blacks just a week prior, with Erasmus and co looking to ensure that any mistakes will not be repeated.
Erasmus had the following to say ahead of the almighty clash: “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.”
With arguably the greatest strength in depth of all international sides, multiple World Cup winners have returned to the squad as they look to bolster an already solid group of players, providing yet further challenges for the wounded All Blacks.
Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux both return to the starting XV in the back three with Kurt-Lee Arendse having been ruled out of the match due to concussion.
Despite his impressive performance last week, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu returns to the bench as Grant Williams and Handre Pollard create a new halfback combination. Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be joined by Jaden Hendrikse on the sidelines alongside the mighty Lukhanyo Am who also returns to the squad.
Despite taking a hard blow to the cheek in last week’s clash, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi made it through all the training sessions this week and has been cleared to play, which will see him start in a powerful loose trio with Jasper Wiese and Pieter-Steph du Toit, who reverts from lock to flanker.
Fan favourite Eben Etzebeth returns to the starting lineup, whilst Steven Kitshoff, Ben-Jason Dixon and Makazole Mapimpi have all been released to their provincial unions for more game time in the Carling Currie Cup.
Springbok team to face New Zealand in Cape Town:
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 96 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 10 caps, 25 pts (5t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 74 caps, 80 points (16t)
12 –Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 83 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 36 caps, 96 points (15t, 3c, 5p)
10 – Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 74 caps, 734 points (7t, 99c, 162p, 5dg)
9 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 14 caps, 15 points (3t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 28 caps, 5 points (1t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 82 caps, 45 points (9t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 87 caps, 55 points (11t)
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 points
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 125 caps, 30 points (6t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 74 caps, 5 points (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 73 caps, 75 points (15t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 34 caps, 0 points
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 70 caps, 95 points (19t)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 5 caps, 0 points
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 55 caps, 0 points
19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 46 caps, 45 points (9t)
20 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 7 caps, 0 points
21 – Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 15 caps, 12 pts (2t, 1c)
22 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 7 caps, 49 points (14c, 4p)
23 – Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 37 caps, 35 pts (7t)
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