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 will have to do without the experienced lock Eben Etzebeth, while Jasper Wiese makes a welcome return in 8th place.
- Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Aphelele Fassi remain in 10th and 15th place respectively.
- For more news about the Springboks, see our dedicated section.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made several changes to his team for Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
In total, there are nine changes from the team that beat the Wallabies 30-12 in Perth.
The Boks will be without experienced centre-back Eben Etzebeth, who is out with a meniscus injury, while Salmaan Moerat, who captained the team at the Test in Perth but left the field injured with a concussion, is also unavailable.
Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje will therefore form the locking duo.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also keeps the number 10 shirt, Handre Pollard continues to sit on the bench and Aphelele Fassi remains as full-back in front of Willie le Roux.
Jasper Wiese, who is back on the field after his suspension and will start with the number 8, can also look forward to a return.
READ | Springboks against All Blacks at Ellis Park: Since the re-admission, the head-to-head record is 5:5
The Bok package features six changes from the starting lineup 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 join Nortje, while Wiese will be joined in the loose trio by captain Siya Kolisi and Ben-Jason Dixon, who has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the Test in Perth.
In the defence, Erasmus also brought Damian de Allende back to partner Jesse Kriel in the centre; Kurt-Lee Arendse is also back in the team and forms the three-man chain together with Cheslin Kolbe and Fassi.
Springbok team meets 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 not available 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 in the lock position, but we are happy with how Ruan supported his man in our last game and we are confident that he will work well with Pieter-Steph in the lock position,” said Erasmus.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for him to show what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.”
“It is also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back and we know he will bring a lot of energy in attack and defence after waiting for his return to the pitch and we look forward to seeing his physicality combined with that of the rest of the back row.
“We also have a well-established defence and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they can do against a strong attacking All Black defence.
“We saw in Australia what most of these players can do under pressure and we are confident they will want to build on that against the All Blacks.”
On the Bok bench, which consists of a lineup of 62 forwards and 62 defenders, Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch are the first-row substitutes, while Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden and Kwagga Smith serve as backup strikers.
The two backline players on the bench are the versatile Grant Williams and Pollard, who together cover the scrum half, wing, midfield and link positions.
The squad consists of 12 players who appeared in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand in Paris last October: Kolisi, Nche, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Du Toit, Wiese, Arendse, De Allende, Kriel, Kolbe, Smith and Pollard.
Wiese was deemed fit to play, having trained with the team since the beginning of June, while Erasmus opted to give Steven Kitshoff (prop), Canan Moodie (wing), Jaden Hendrikse (scrum half) and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) more time to get used to the new structures.
Erasmus expressed confidence that the lockdown crisis would ease somewhat next week.
“Eben might have been ready to play this week if we really needed him, but we believe it would be to our advantage to select a player who is 100 percent fit. And Salmaan should also be back in the squad next week after following the return to play protocols.
“We are happy that things will be much easier for us in this regard before the second test,” said Erasmus.
The test on Saturday starts at 17:00.
