The Springboks will look to bounce back from last weekend’s shock 38-22 Rugby Championship defeat to the Wallabies when they face them again in Cape Town on Saturday.
Rassie Erasmus rang the changes to his side after the Johannesburg defeat. The reigning champions have, however, had several injuries to deal with. Already, their backs are against the wall – but that is often when South Africa are at their most brilliant.
Joe Schmidt would no doubt have been hugely encouraged by back-to-back wins in the last of three Tests against the British & Irish Lions and against the Springboks.
His 50% win record to date is a huge improvement on his most recent predecessors in the Wallabies head coaching role. However, now is the time to demonstrate that Australia are truly ready to turn the corner in terms of consistency and compete among the best in the world again.
Key details:
Date: Saturday, August 23 at 5:10 PM CAT (3:10 PM GMT, 11:10 AM ET)
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Referee: James Doleman
How to watch: The match is available on SuperSport.
Team news:
The Springboks have had several injuries to deal with. Jesse Kriel captains the side in the absence of Siya Kolisi, who picked up a knee injury in the last Test. Kurt-Lee Arendse is also out with a knee injury, as is Pieter-Steph du Toit with concussion and Edwill van der Merwe with an ankle injury.
Erasmus has retained only five players in his starting XV after the loss to the Wallabies in the previous Test. Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams, and Jesse Kriel are the only ones to keep their places, with Kriel standing in as captain for Kolisi.
“We lost four players to injury last weekend, which obviously had an impact on a few of our selections, but we also know where we went wrong against Australia last week, so we made a few changes that we believe will offer us what we need for this game,” said Erasmus.
“Damian [de Allende] and Cheslin [Kolbe] have also recovered from their injuries, and with their experience and knowledge of the Wallabies, it was a logical choice to recall them.”
Springboks:
Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Handre Pollard, Grant Williams; Jean-Lu du Preez, Franco Mostert, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, RG Snyman, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche
Replacements: Marcus van der Merwe, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Sach Feinberg Mngomezulu
Wallabies:
TBC
Replacements: TBC
Stats
Damian De Allende will move into 10th place on the list of most-capped Springboks, with 90 Tests. He is currently tied on 89 with Pieter-Steph du Toit, who is out with injury, and the late Joost van der Westhuizen.
The Wallabies are visiting Cape Town for the first time since 2014, when the Springboks still played their home games there at Newlands. On that occasion, South Africa won 28-10.
