Pieter-Steph du Toit will lead the Springboks in his 100th Test, as the Boks still wait for regular skipper Siya Kolisi to pass a fitness test ahead of the second match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against the All Blacks at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
Du Toit, who led the Boks in their 33-16 defeat to the All Blacks last Saturday at Ellis Park, holds on to the captaincy armband, with Kolisi bracketed alongside Paul de Villiers in the 23-player match-day squad named by coach Rassie Erasmus on Monday.
Erasmus has also recalled the experience of double World Cup-winning flyhalf Handre Pollard at No 10, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu dropping to the bench after a disappointing performance in Johannesburg.
Manie Libbok drops out of the squad completely.
Pollard will be joined by Cobus Reinach at halfback, as last week’s No 9 Grant Williams has been ruled out due to injury, leaving Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg to cover on the bench.
“Handre has delivered for us under extreme pressure, and we feel that he and Cobus have the potential to bring something at the beginning of the game, and then have Morne and Sacha come on later with their different styles of play, will be good for us this weekend,” Erasmus said.
After leaving the field at Ellis Park, Cheslin Kolbe has not recovered and will be replaced by Ethan Hooker. Kurt-Lee Arendse will switch from the left to right wing to accommodate Hooker.
“Cheslin and Grant (Williams) suffered niggles last weekend, which ruled them out of contention for selection, while we have bracketed Siya alongside Paul to allow us time to monitor how Siya comes through training this week,” said Erasmus.
“The changes we made are in line with what we want to achieve on the field this week, and it is valuable that almost all of the players have been involved in the last two games, so they will be able to cope with the intensity and physicality of this match.”
All eyes will be on Kolisi during training this week as the Boks gauge the fitness of their inspirational captain, who would join Du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the loose trio.
The switch on the bench sees the inclusion of 39-year-old Deon Fourie in a back-up front row with Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit, while Lood de Jager (lock) and Cameron Hanekom (loose forward) will join hybrid Andre Esterhuizen as the replacement forwards.
@iol.sport “It’s nice now to go into the next game as the underdogs—it feels different.” 🇿🇦👀 Rassie Erasmus didn’t hold back after the defeat to the All Blacks, noting that while Wilco Louw and the pack dominated upfront, scrum dominance alone isn’t enough when New Zealand controls the rest of the park. Now all eyes turn to squad selection. How did you view the match, and what changes should Rassie make for the next clash? Drop your thoughts below! 👇 #Springboks #AllBlacks #RassieErasmus #RugbyGreatestRivalry #Bokke ♬ original sound – IOL Sport
Springbok team to face the All Blacks in Cape Town:
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain) 6 Siya Kolisi / Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
