Cheslin Kolbe will switch from wing to fullback in the only change to the Springbok team for Saturday’s third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series test against New Zealand at FNB Stadium outside Soweto on Saturday.
Kolbe moves to the last line of defence to cover for Damian Willemse, who will miss this match with the hamstring injury he sustained halfway through the 33-26 win in the second test in Cape Town at the weekend. Coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed at the team announcement press conference that Willemse’s injury is not too serious and he will be on the plane that flies out after the game on Saturday night for the final game of the series in Baltimore.
Kolbe’s move makes space for Kurt-Lee Arendse, who was in the initial selection last week but made way when Kolbe proved his fitness during the course of the week, to play on the wing. Ethan Hooker continues on the other wing, and rightly so after his excellent all-round performance at the DHL Stadium.
Erasmus has effectively gone Full Metal Jacket with his selections, sending out a clear message that he intends to continued with the sustained pressure created by the physical Bok power game, that really should have put the All Blacks away in the first game in Johannesburg but for a few moments where they lacked cohesion.
Asked in the team announcement press conference if he was taking a risk by backing up the same team for the third successive week, Erasmus pointed out that the All Blacks have played on average 60 minutes more per man of international rugby over the past six weeks - effectively since the Nations Championship matches in July.
Although it is the same starting team that was announced for Cape Town, with the exception that Kolbe was left out last Monday, the team did of course change on the day of last week’s game as Erasmus swapped his two front rows around. This time Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit are likely to fulfil the back-up roles as impact players they were initially selected for last week before Erasmus decided that the changed weather conditions made it expedient to change his starting front row.
Erasmus said that with rain currently predicted for match day, with at the moment it put at a 60 per cent chance, there was a chance he would make a change again but added that he hoped he wouldn't need to.
Springbok team: Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Ethan Hooker, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche.
Replacements: Deon Fourie, Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Lood de Jager, Andre Esterhuizen, Cameron Hanekom, Morne van den Berg, Manie Libbok.