Springboks make three changes for crucial second Lions Test

If the game is as boring as the last one I’ll be face down regardless of the drink

You'd be face down on the carpet after 20 minutes! :laughing:

They better not cut down the kicking from the 9… my drinking game is take a shot every time Faf kicks the ball.

Might as well replace Cheslin Kolbe too / he never touches the ball..

Not sure if SA have any back three options who are tall and at Test level yet? Very short back three and the lions are going to keep testing that high issue.

Haha! Yes. I was muddled. Those are the three players I think are genuinely going to come right, and hard

His opportunities seemed to only come in an environment where Lions had him comfortably controlled. I'm sure he'll be given more ball at w/d.

They targeted Kolbe. Not a good thing to do...

Not going to drop him. They hung him out to dry (Nienaber's words) in the first match without backup. He played very well and for me is the only player that did enough to deserve their place in the team this week. The 7 players who were rushed into the team after isolation have now had more time to recover and get in some training sessions. Boks going to get physical with the Lions by the looks of the team. I also won't be surprised if they play a more possession orientated game and cut down on the kicking from 9.

This has all the makings of a bar room brawl and I cannot wait as a neutral observer. I imagine the gameplans will not differ much for either side from the first test. Boks look muscly with Wiese at 8, the Boer props starting and a 6-2 split. Reckon they will be fired up to try and get revenge on the Lions forwards who managed to win the physical battle in test 1. On the flip side, Chris Harris at 13 is for defence and I can imagine the modus operandi for the men outside him will be to chase those high balls from Murray and Biggar. Doubt Harris will be feeding them the ball in space all that often. If Kolbe and Mapimpi can hold their own under the bombs then they may very well suffocate the Lions chances for field position, as they capitalised a lot, particularly in the second 40, off loose ball. Interesting match ups on the pitch and a lot of controversy this week, I hope things go off!

As good as Kolbe is, for a second there I thought you'd gone completely outside the box with the front row?! I hope for the sake of the series they do Harry. No one wants a dead rubber third test. And no one wants to hear from a TMO. Good luck.

I assume he could probably cover the wings too, but 13 would be tough. It seems like an odd decision to double down on the pack replacements when you already have some of the toughest backrowers in the biz. I think they probably should have just dropped Smith, given I don't think their gameplan utilises his talents, and gotten a bit better coverage for their backline.

Yep. 10, 12 and 15

I assume Willemse covers 10 if Pollard goes down?

Kwagga in the 23 still. He must have dirty pics of Jaco Johan with Johan Jaco. Happy about keeping the backline as is, minus Elton, and granting Kolbe-Kitshoff-Malherbe a chance at redemption. I think the Bok props will BRING it this time.

Actually, there wasn't that much in the first test as the scoreboard indicated, as it was more so game time, which really showed out after the break , that beat the Bokke. I do think we'll see a different animal this weekend, with a couple of necessary changes being made. I actually thought that Mostert, might have been put back to the bench, as de Jagger, did show plenty, in assisting Etzebeth, when he came on last week. But I'm not the selector, so Rassie I take it, knows his job.

Lions selection largely makes sense in my eyes. Starters looking to match the Boks in the physical battle and continue to kick the leather off the ball. Bench now has more impact, to either pull a game back in or pull away if fatigue strikes the Boks again towards the end. It's a shame Wyn Jones is still not fit enough to start as I think Mako is better coming off the bench in this contest, and I'm still not convinced Sutherland should even be on this tour. The Lions were generally poor under the contested high ball all over the park last weekend but FB is perhaps more critical than most, and Williams would be my preferred option over Hogg for his prowess in that regard. Townsend strikes again? Should be a belter. Doubt it will be pretty.

I do wonder if there was a degree of complacency in the Springboks at half time, with a comfortable lead. And just the opposite in the Lions camp. Complacency won't be an issue in Game 2 for either team. Looks like being a cracker, even if not a running spectacle.

I feel more comfortable with this team. Such a shame for Nche. 15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 63 caps, 60 pts (12t) 14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse) – 15 caps, 40 pts (8t) 13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 16 caps, 15 pts (3t) 12 – Damian de Allende (Munster) – 48 caps, 30 pts (6t) 11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 15 caps, 70 pts (14t) 10 – Handre Pollard (vice-captain, Montpellier) – 50 caps, 477pts (6t, 78c, 93p, 4d) 9 – Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks) – 31 caps, 25 pts (5t) 8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 1 cap, 0 pts 7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Stormers) – 57 caps, 25 pts (5t) 6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 52 caps, 30 pts (6t) 5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 41 caps, 5pts (1t) 4 – Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) – 87 caps, 15 pts (3t) 3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 40 caps, 5pts (1t) 2 – Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers) – 38 caps, 40 pts (8t) 1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 49 caps, 5pts (1t) Replacements: 16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 35 caps, 30 pts (6t) 17 – Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls) – 44 caps, 5 pts (1t) 18 – Vincent Koch (Saracens) – 21 caps, 0 pts 19 – Lood de Jager (Sale Sharks) – 46 caps, 25 pts (5t) 20 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 pts 21 – Kwagga Smith (Yamaha Júbilo) – 8 caps, 5 pts (1t) 22 – Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers) – 12 caps, 25 pts (5t) 23 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 5pts (1t)

There wasn't much between the two sides in game 1 and so anything could happen. What I do notice is that for the Boks it looks like essentially more of the same and I don't see anything that indicates that they have a plan to deal with the avalanche of contestable kicks from the Lions. Whichever side decides to train on the beach might develop an advantage, as the surface at the stadium might come to resemble a sandpit before this series is over - it was well on the way in game 1.