Rassie Erasmus announces SEVEN changes to the Springboks squad for the “massive” All Blacks Test, with 19 World Cup winners including Siya Kolisi in the starting lineup.
All Blacks versus the Springboks squad
Erasmus has brought in new players to his squad in anticipation of South Africa’s victory over the All Blacks on Saturday in Cape Town, which would move them one step closer to winning the Rugby Championship.
Nineteen Rugby World Cup champions make up the squad; the only four players on matchday 23 who did not compete in the competition the previous year are Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw, and Steenekamp.
Following his full recovery from the face injury he suffered at Ellis Park, Pieter-Steph du Toit, who moves from lock to his regular position, and captain Siya Kolisi lead the squad from the back row.
Regaining the starting number four shirt in the locks, Eben Etzebeth will now have 126 Test caps, one less than Victor Matfield’s all-time Bok record of 127. Ben-Jason Dixon leaves the team to make room for du Toit at the flank, and he partners Nortje, who wins his third straight start.
The front row remains the same, with Frans Malherbe at tighthead, Ox Nche at loosehead, and Bongi Mbonambi at hooker.Winners and losers of the Springboks squad as Rassie Erasmus welcomes back “generational talent” and honors “fantastic Bomb Squad star” for the All Blacks rematch
The very skilled Grant Williams, who sparkled off the bench and scored the game-winning try the previous time out, receives his first start of the year at scrum-half, marking yet another change in the backline. In the halfback position, he teams up with Handre Pollard; the two-time World Cup winner, number ten, takes the bench slot held by breakout star Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Kurt-Lee Arendse’s injury has resulted in a rearguard trio switch, as Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel begin their 33rd game together in the centers. Canan Moodie starts with the number 14 jersey and earns his first cap of 2024 as Cheslin Kolbe moves from the right to the left wing. Aphelele Fassi finally leaves the matchday 23 lineup following two excellent fullback shifts, with Willie Le Roux assuming the number 15 jumper.
Erasmus has made changes to the bench as well, going back to the traditional 5-3 formation instead of the 6-2 split. He has welcomed the return of 2023 World Cup champion Jaden Hendrikse and star center Lukhanyo Am, who together with Feinberg-Mngomezulu, give backline cover.
Kwagga Smith and Louw are the other forward replacements, and Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, and Vincent Koch will make an impact in the front row.
Steven Kitshoff, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Makazole Mapimpi have all been cleared to play in the Currie Cup. It was anticipated that Mapimpi would replace Arendse, but he gave birth to his child this past week in KwaZulu-Natal and will stay there to be eligible for the Sharks XV. The All Blacks squad: Will Jordan moves to a different position for the second Springboks Test as Scott Robertson makes drastic adjustments.
Rassie is happy that Kolisi can be reached.
Erasmus cautioned against gazing too far ahead, as the Boks were able to get one step closer to winning the competition.”This is going to be an incredible match,” Erasmus declared.”We know that after leading in the second half last week, New Zealand, a world-class team, will be eager to recover.”
It would be wonderful to win the championship as a team, he said, but getting ahead of yourself always pays off.This week, our main goals are to improve on last week’s mistakes and give our best performance against New Zealand.
“It’s not like New Zealand has been the greatest team in the world for a very long time. They are a strong team, and they have proven to us in the past that you can never write them off. After losing their opening game of the tournament, we witnessed how they recovered against Argentina.
They’ll be encouraged to make a big impression this week by the fact that Cape Town has been a productive hunting ground for them.Since they have as much to gain as we do, we can be certain that our relationship will be the most intense and close-knit ever. Another intense grind for the entire eighty minutes is required.
The Springboks manager was likewise happy to have Kolisi at his disposal this week.”Siya is an exceptional player and captain who greatly enhances the team’s performance by setting a positive example and inspiring the group during stressful situations,” Erasmus remarked.
“Just as we discussed with Eben last week, Siya met our team guideline of being selected for the weekend if he trains on a Monday and completes training without any injuries during the week.
Have complete faith in Siya to give it her all because our team culture places a high value on players being honest about their ability to play and perform to the fullest extent possible.