RASSIE ERASMUS HAS made 10 changes to the South Africa team that beat Australia in their Rugby Championship opener as the sides prepare to meet again in Perth on Saturday.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is among the players rotated out of the matchday 23 altogether following last weekend’s 33-7 success, with Salmaan Moerat captaining South Africa from lock.
With Leinster’s RG Snyman — a late withdrawal from that championship opener — continuing to recover from what the Springboks describe as a “foot niggle”, Moerat’s second-row partner will be first-time starter Ruan Nortje. Scrum-half Morne van den Berg will also earn his first test start for his country.
Marco van Staden takes Kolisi’s spot at six, while the only five players to retain their starting jerseys are right wing Cheslin Kolbe, outside centre Jesse Kriel, out-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, number eight Elrigh Louw, and Pieter-Steph du Toit, who moves from lock to seven.
“We made it clear from the outset this season that one of our main goals is to build squad depth with an eye on the next Rugby World Cup here in Australia”, said Boks head coach Erasmus, “and we feel there is no better way to test some of the younger players and assess where we are as a group against a top-tier nation, especially away from home in this match.
“We have a group of about 45 players that are part of our wider squad this season and we’ve seen what most of these players can do,” Erasmus added. “We have full faith in the younger generation of players coming through, and we feel this is the right time to test them against an Australian outfit that will be desperate to bounce back strongly from last weekend.”
Intriguingly, Erasmus has named both Mannie Libbok and Handre Pollard as two of his three back replacements, alongside scrum-half Grant Williams, in a 5-3 bench split.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Thomas du Toit and Johan Grobbelaar make up the starting front row as they did against Portugal in Bloemfontein last month.
Five other players from the side that beat Portugal 64-21 are also involved: the aforementioned Libbok is on the bench, while scrum-half Van den Berg, inside centre Lukhanyo Am, left wing Makazole Mapimpi and fullback Aphelele Fassi have all been handed starts.
“We have a big squad, and it’s important to balance some players’ workload while at the same time bringing a few young players into the mix, and this squad allows us to do both,” said Erasmus.
“This also means that every player in this travelling squad will have an opportunity to play. All of the players who have been excluded from the squad have been regulars this season and we feel we’ll benefit in different ways by resting them this week.”
The Springboks have confirmed that all of Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe, Gerhard Steenekamp, Bongi Mbonambi, Cobus Reinach, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende and Willie le Roux are being rested for Saturday’s second Rugby Championship fixture.
South Africa (v Australia)
15. Aphelele Fassi
14. Cheslin Kolbe
13. Jesse Kriel
12. Lukhanyo Am
11. Makazole Mapimpi
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
9. Morne van den Berg
1. Jan-Hendrik Wessels
2. Johan Grobbelaar
3. Thomas du Toit
4. Salmaan Moerat
5. Ruan Nortje
6. Marco van Staden
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit
8. Elrigh Louw
Replacements:
16. Malcolm Marx
17. Ox Nche
18. Vincent Koch
19. Eben Etzebeth
20. Kwagga Smith
21. Grant Williams
22. Manie Libbok
23. Handré Pollard
