Wellington — Experienced lock Eben Etzebeth will return from a shoulder injury to captain a much-changed South Africa against hosts New Zealand in Saturday’s crunch Rugby Championship tie.
Only six players keep their places in coach Jacques Nienaber’s starting line-up from the team which thumped Australia 43-12 in Pretoria last weekend.
They are fullback Willie le Roux, centre Lukhanyo Am, fly-half Damian Willemse and the front row of Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe and Bongi Mbonambi.
The other nine who will start against the All Blacks, including Etzebeth, were part of a group of players sent ahead to New Zealand to acclimatise and sat out the win over the Wallabies.
Nienaber sought a balance between picking players who had adjusted to the time difference after travelling to Auckland early and those who played well in Pretoria.
“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,” he said on Tuesday.
“We believe this will be beneficial against a top opponent in the All Blacks.”
Etzebeth will lead the #Springboks in Auckland as De Allende and Am are reunited in the midfield – team announcement: https://t.co/6P0Fi5LlBL 🏉#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/OePyhr7cFc
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 11, 2023
Loose forward Duane Vermeulen, captain against Australia, drops to the bench with Leicester’s Jasper Wiese taking over at No. 8.
With Auckland’s Eden Park unavailable as it prepares to host Women’s World Cup football matches, the clash across the city at Mount Smart stadium looks set to determine the winners of the Rugby Championship.
This year’s tournament is shortened to three rounds of matches ahead of the Rugby World Cup starting in two months.
The All Blacks also approach the showdown buoyed by a big win after hammering Argentina 41-12 away last weekend.
“New Zealand showed last week what they can do when they have the space to convert their chances into points,” said Nienaber.
“We need to deliver a strong performance in all departments and our defence needs to be solid.”
Etzebeth is captain in the absence of regular skipper Siya Kolisi, who suffered a knee injury in April but will be available in August when the Springboks play three World Cup warm-up games.
“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 in this important fixture,” said Nienaber.
“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.”
Team (15-1)
Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Damian Willemse, Faf de Klerk; Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok
Coach: Jacques Nienaber (RSA)
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@SARugbymag
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