Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has called up the 2021-22 Vodacom United Rugby Championship Player of the Year, Evan Roos, to his starting team for Saturday’s test against England at Twickenham.
Roos played off the bench last week and obviously did enough to impress the Bok coaches as he has been selected ahead of Kwagga Smith, who continues on the bench. Of course, that selection might also be tactical, with Smith being joined on the bench by Marco van Staden, which could signal an intent to have ball scavengers who can slow opposition ball down as well as turn over their possession on the field late in the game.
The Stormers No 8’s only previous start was in his debut against Wales in Bloemfontein in July. Last week's appearance off the bench was his second cap and he was excluded from the Bok squad for most of the Rugby Championship campaign. The Boks had to make a change in his position because Jasper Wiese has returned to his English club team, Leicester Tigers, due to this game falling outside of the international window.
????????????????: Here is the Springbok team that will face England this weekend ?????? pic.twitter.com/M2DQIsL7Wh
— SuperSport ?? (@SuperSportTV) November 22, 2022
In all, there are five changes to the Bok starting team, including a positional switch, from the side that started the 63-21 rout of Italy in Genoa last weekend. There have been reports that Damian de Allende injured himself in training on Monday, but that injury does not appear too serious as he is back in his regular position of inside centre for the England game.
He played outside centre against Italy and looked comfortable there, and there may have been a temptation to keep him there and accommodate Damian Willemse at No 12 so that Manie Libbok could make his debut. However, Nienaber has decided to stick with the continuity mantra and in a game of this magnitude, that probably makes sense. Andre Esterhuizen played inside centre last week but has returned to his club.
Jesse Kriel returns at outside centre after missing out last week, while Cheslin Kolbe’s unavailability due to his return to club duty means Makazole Mapimpi is back on the wing for this game against the team he scored a try against in the 2019 World Cup final. Canan Moodie, flown out during the week from South Africa after recovering from the injury that prevented him from going on tour, is on the replacement’s bench as wing cover.
The other change to the side that won in Genoa is the return of Eben Etzebeth as lock partner to Marvin Orie, who like Roos has had his progress at international level recognised by selection for what is considered a massive game on the Bok calendar.
Like he did against France two weeks ago, Nienaber has moved away from the six/two Bomb Squad split between forwards and backs, but with Malcolm Marx teaming up with Van Staden and Smith on the bench, there is no secret that the battle for loose ball and the quest to either speed up or slow down the recycles against an England team that finished with a flourish against New Zealand is taking top priority.
With Vincent Koch and Trevor Nyakane both unavailable, there is place for Thomas du Toit on the bench as tighthead back-up, while another Sharks player, Jaden Hendrikse, is in the match day squad as the reserve scrumhalf for the unavailable Cobus Reinach. Hendrikse last saw action when he started against Ireland at the start of the tour.
Considering the non-availability of France and England-based players it is a strong team that, with Manie Libbok due for a third cap as an impact replacement, looks well equipped to be effective in chasing the game should that be necessary or to put England away if the platform is laid for that in the initial parts of the game. That was what the All Blacks, who were dominant for most of the way last week, failed to do on their visit to Twickenham.
