South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus named a much-changed starting XV for the second Rugby Championship Test against Australia in Cape Town on Saturday, with only five of the starters from Ellis Park returning.
Out of the second clash, after the Springboks lost the first fixture 38-22, are captain Siya Kolisi due to a knee injury, and Pieter-Steph du Toit to concussion. Also out injured are Edwill van der Merwe, and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Erasmus confirmed to the media on Monday that Jesse Kriel would captain the side in the absence of Kolisi, while Damian de Allende and star winger Cheslin Kolbe return from injuries.
A statement on the official SA Rugby website said: “The five players who will start against Australia for the second week in a row are Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams, and Kriel – who takes over the captaincy from the injured Siya Kolisi.”
Franco Mostert, Canan Moodie, Wilco Louw, Boan Venter, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, and Cobus Reinach are the other players who will get another run against the visitors.
Erasmus said: “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.
“Damian and Cheslin have also recovered from their injuries, and with their experience and knowledge of the Wallabies, it was a logical choice to recall them.”
As for their mental preparation for the second Test, Rassie added: “We are determined to get things right this week.
“Boan got a taste of what it’s like to face Australia last week, and Ruan did well against them last year, while it will be good for a few other guys to experience playing against one the top teams in the world, especially as we continue to build our squad depth.
“We are pleased with this squad, and we are all aligned on what we have to do to lift our standards this week.”
Erasmus expected another physical battle against the Wallabies: “There’s no doubt they’ll take a lot of confidence from their victory last week, and especially since that marked their first victory at Ellis Park against us in the professional era.
“We are still hurting from that result, and the coaches and players are extremely disappointed with the way we played last week. We know we didn’t play according to our standards in the second half, and we must rectify that.
“We let ourselves and the country down, so we have all the motivation we need to make things right this week.”
Springboks:
15 Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 100 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 15 caps, 35 pts (7t)
13 Jesse Kriel (captain, Canon Eagles) – 81 caps, 95 points (19t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 89 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 41 caps, 111 points (18t, 3c, 5p)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 82 caps, 797 points (7t, 116c, 168p, 5dg)
9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 20 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles) – 14 caps 10 points (2t)
7 Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 80 caps, 20 points (4t)
6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 28 caps, 15 pts (3t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 0 pts
4 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 42 caps, 10 points (2t)
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 25 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 79 caps, 115 pts (23t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 42 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets) – 1 cap, 10 points (2t)
17 Boan Venter (Edinburgh) – 2 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps, 0 pts
19 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 134 caps, 35 points (7t)
20 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 68 caps, 25 points (5t)
21 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 54 caps, 45 points (9t)
22 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 41 caps, 70 pts (14t)
23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 10 caps, 54 points (15c, 8p)
