Eben Etzebeth returns from a shoulder injury as captain of the Springboks to face New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber named 10 of the 14 players who travelled to New Zealand a week ago to acclimatise to the conditions and time zone in his matchday squad. There is no place for Kurt-Lee Arendse who scored a hat-trick of tries against the Wallabies on Sunday, while Damian Willemse replaces Manie Libbok who was impressive at No.10 in Pretoria and slips to the bench.
Nine of the Bok advance party will start, including locks Etzebeth and Lood de Jager and the loose trio of Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert and Jasper Wiese.
Malcolm Marx, who was also a member of the advance travelling contingent, will provide cover at hooker off the bench.
In the backline, wings Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe also receive starts, along with centre Damian de Allende, who will reunite in the Rugby World Cup winning midfield combination with Lukhanyo Am.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Fullback Willie le Roux, Am, Willemse and the front row of Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe (both props), and Bongi Mbonambi (hooker) will all start after getting game time against the Wallabies.
Nienaber has gone for a 6-2 bench split as he favours.
“We planned to select a squad with a few key combinations of players who are fully acclimatised and settled in in New Zealand, while also selecting some players who started last week, and we are pleased with the balance we were able to strike with this squad,” said Nienaber.
“This allows us to give some players their first taste of international rugby this season alongside a group of players who come off a physical clash against the Wallabies, and we believe this will be beneficial against a top opponent in the All Blacks.
“The fact that we can give a few other players in the bigger squad a run this weekend is fantastic as we want to give as many players as possible game time with an eye on doing well in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and further ahead in the Rugby World Cup.”
Of Etzebeth’s comeback return, Nienaber said: “Eben has been working very hard in the last few months to make a full recovery from his shoulder injury and it’s great to see him return to the field in this important fixture. He’s a vastly experienced player with 110 Test caps, he’s captained the Springboks before and he has been with the group of players in New Zealand for over a week, so he is the ideal person to lead the team this weekend.”
New Zealand opened their campaign with an impressive win over Argentina last weekend.
Springbok team to face New Zealand:
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 84 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 23 caps, 74pts (11t, 2c, 5p)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 70 Tests, 45pts (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 36 caps, 110pts (22t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 28 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 46 Tests, 41pts (5t, 2c, 4p)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester) – 20 caps, 5pts (1t)
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 63 caps, 15pts (3t)
6 – Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs) – 31 caps, 20pts (4t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 25pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 110 caps, 15pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 59 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 57 caps, 60 pts (12t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 72 caps, 10pts (2t)
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 59 caps, 70pts (14t)
17 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 16 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Stade Francais) – 42 caps, 0 pts
19 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
20 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 67 caps, 30 pts (6t)
21 – Duane Vermeulen (SA Rugby) – 66 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks) – 2 caps, 0 pts
23 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 19 pts (8c, 1p)
Minging
Roar Rookie
World's best hooker should be starting every test, not on the bench.
CoxC
Roar Rookie
True
Tim J
Roar Rookie
They certainly are our biggest challenge Muzzo, both say that playing each other is the biggest challenge. It is the biggest rivalry in Rugby, and it brings out the best of the players for both teams. :thumbup:
Jacko
Roar Rookie
LOL the peanut butter thing was from a tee shirt my wife had. Is something like "I may be as slow as a turtle running thru peanut butter, but at least Im still running" Sadly RI will be impeded this week as Foster has given him Mounga at 10. :laughing: :laughing: No doubt it will all be BBs/RIs/Fosters fault if the backs dont gell tho.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Yeh we know, but like you & your peanut turtle , sandwiches, I take it, must be affecting your obvious way of thought. Now just sit back this weekend & see how your Reiko goes up against far better opposition.
Sofa Coach
Roar Rookie
W-L Why on earth would you expect the Bok to go away from their DNA? They never have. They’ve won 3 World cups doing what they do best. And this is a truly imperious squad. They have no weakness and loads of depth. Almost all the other top sides have a collection of players who, if missing, would greatly weaken their sides. Not the Bok. They’re a production line of beasts up front and excitement machines out wide. They aren’t changing for anyone. The onus is now on the rest of the world to prove they can match them. The AB aura has lost a bit of its shine under Foster, meanwhile the Bok have just doubled down on their strengths since victory in 2019. So while the ABs may have home advantage, the Bok preparation to counter that has gone perfectly to plan. This week won’t be nearly as easy for them as that demolition last weekend, but they look more sure of themselves than the kiwis right now. Still you’d have to have failed a HIA to ever right off the ABs. Should be a belter this weekend whatever the result, but I reckon no matter who the opposition is, your betting against huge odds if you think the Bok are going to bring anything to a game of rugby but the Bok.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
I watch him a lot. I wont be next year tho as he's off. No point having him in the side at all. He is a bit slow compared to many international backs but I very much doubt its because of who he plays for. I reckon he would be slow playing for the Chiefs too. Yes he has a good range of skills. There are better options now and he clearly sees that. Time to cash the bigger cheques overseas.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Kolbe will not. Kolbe is a winger, Reiko a 13. Goodhue clearly isnt as good as RI as he is in Japan playing for the ABXV side.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Yeah he was good last week apparently. Reiko was better tho and at a higher standard. Goodhue is leaving anyway. Another Sader going.
Otago Man
Roar Rookie
This is very sad news. Eben needs to be at home for himself and his family. I don't think he would be in the right headspace for the game.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Yes very sad JN, as these sort of things at this time could affect Eben's game one way or another. IMO, I do personally think, this test match will be for his father. Time will tell.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Won't happen WL as they're not playing at the Garden of Eden. It's happening in that very smart place, Mt. Smart.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Yep in Aotearoa Tim, but overall going back on our history with them. they are the only nation in world rugby to have the for & against over us for approx 60 years Bro. No other nation has ever come close. As you'd know, that was turned around in the latter part of the 90's. Tim I've always regarded them as our ultimate challenge, as we both are the only nations to win three RWC's.
Nick
Roar Rookie
Musta sneezed &issues it MM. Did he land it??
Nick
Roar Rookie
Muzzo can't remember that far or what stage he was at. RI makes plenty of breaks it some of the other things he hasn't polished (yet or ever?). Did Nonu make lots of breaks but his distribution was poor etc? He certainly got better and better until he became a legend. Not saying RI will follow h Same trajectory but he's clearly Fozzies chosen one. At least he's hanging around so props for that!
Nick
Roar Rookie
This is 100% an issue with them Brendan. Lots of back patting after game too. So no doubt we'll get flogged!
SpaceBOK
Roar Rookie
Speaking about Frans Steyn, have a look Steyn's two drop goals against Australia in the Tri Nations, 2007.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
SA don't want the ball going wide so choice #1 is the hard hit behind the gainline. Choice #2 is for the attacker to make the break inside them rather than get the ball wide to the wings. This means if defenders are not able to do #1 the do everything they can to do #2 in my opinion as players like to be stars so if they see a break they want to take the line break and don't often look to see what is waiting. There is a reason that SA teams are so hard to get the ball to the wings against.
SpaceBOK
Roar Rookie
Eben, Lood, Mostert, RG Snyman, PSDT and Thormeulen in the 23!!
donmcdazzle
Roar Rookie
Esterhuizen - would probably be a 50 test player for any other nation.