The selection of Edinburgh-based Boan Venter to start at loose-head prop was one of the minor surprises in an otherwise quite predictable Springbok team for Saturday’s clash with France in Paris.
Siya Kolisi will lead the team on the occasion of his 100th game for his country and will have several men who have shared World Cup elation with him as the Boks go out to cement their No 1 spot on the rankings against the European champions at Stade de France.
With Damian Willemse returning from injury to take up his place at fullback, in most cases coach Rassie Erasmus has gone for the more experienced options. Ethan Hooker, excellent in his past few games for the Boks, drops out of the match day squad so that Cheslin Kolbe, who played at fullback against Japan last week, can move back to the right wing.
Jesse Kriel is also preferred at outside centre ahead of Canan Moodie, who has shown good X-factor in the Bok midfield over the latter stages of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship. Like they did last weekend against Japan in London, the most capped midfield pair of Kriel and Damian de Allende will reprise what they did in the tense World Cup quarterfinal between the two teams at the same venue on 15 October 2023.
However, Erasmus has stuck with momentum and form by backing 23-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to make his fifth start in succession in the No 10 jersey alongside veteran scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, while Kolisi will be part of the anticipated back row that also includes No 8 Jasper Wiese and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The same loose trio fronted France in the corresponding game in the 2022 tour, that time in Marseille, but Du Toit will be hoping not to experience a repeat of his experience of that game, which was a red card in the early minutes.
MOST EXPERIENCED SECOND ROW
Another experienced Bok in Lood de Jager is preferred to Ruan Nortje as the No 5 lock while South Africa’s most capped player, Eben Etzebeth, is back in the engine room as his partner. The pair have played together often since De Jager made his international debut in 2014 so there will be a lot of familiarity. Venter, who plays for Edinburgh, is the only surprise in the No 1 jersey, as while many would back Wilco Louw to start at tighthead Erasmus has tended to use the Bulls frontranker as a finisher this season and has instead started with Thomas du Toit.
The bench is a 6/2 or a 5/3 split between forwards and backs depending on which role Andre Esterhuizen will fulfil in this game. Given that there is no specialist loose-forward on the bench (Nortje can play there) it would appear that it is the former as the Sharks centre continues his career as one of international rugby’s first proper hybrid players.
Venter replaces the injured Ox Nche with the makeup of the front row and the front row replacements perhaps an indication of how much the suspension to Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who could have backed up both loosehead and hooker, has hurt the Boks. Du Toit, Etzebeth and Du Toit are the other players who didn’t play last week who will get to start against France.
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The return of Willemse and switch for Kolbe into Hooker’s place means there are only two changes to the backline that performed so well in last week’s 61-7 rout of Japan. RG Snyman’s inclusion on the bench after making way for Etzebeth in the starting team means there are only two changes to the reserve unit.
COACH ALWAYS PLANNED CHANGES
“We always planned to make a few changes for this match, and we’ll continue to rotate the players throughout the tour, so we can give as many players as possible a chance while at the same time trying to achieve our objectives on the field,” said Erasmus.
“This, however, is the team we feel is best suited to what we expect from France, and the way we would like to play this weekend. Many of them have also faced France in 2022 and 2023, so they know what to expect from the hosts and have also had a taste of what it is to play in front of their passionate home crowd.”
Commenting on Kolisi playing in his 100th test, thus becoming the ninth Bok to do so, Erasmus said: “This is a huge milestone for Siya and we are all delighted for him. He is a level-headed player and although this will be a big occasion for him, and a match that we would like to make special for him, he is fully focused on the task at hand, so he won’t allow that to overshadow what he must do on the field.
“This is a huge game, and the entire team knows how determined France will be to make up for the World Cup result, so we’ll celebrate Siya’s achievement after the match. That said, hopefully we can make it a memorable game for him.”
Springbok team: Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Boan Venter.
Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Ruan Nortje, Andre Esterhuizen, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok.