When Rassie Erasmus is the Springbok coach you can always expect the unexpected and there is that in his team selection for Saturday’s second Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry test in Cape Town - veteran Deon Fourie, who plays most of his rugby these days at flank is the back-up hooker.
Fourie, lest it be forgotten, ended up playing most of the World Cup final in 2023 against these same opponents at hooker due to the injury to Bongi Mbonambi. He effectively ended that game, won by one point by the Boks, as the de-facto Bok captain as regular skipper Siya Kolisi had been replaced by then.
Kolisi is in the starting team for the return game at DHL Stadium, which is an indication that he is on the road to recovery from the hamstring injury suffered against Argentina two weeks before this series started. But according to coach Rassie Erasmus he was still struggling a bit on Sunday, and his participation in Saturday’s game depends on him getting through Monday afternoon’s training session.
100TH GAME FOR PIETER-STEPH
That is the reason he and Paul de Villiers are bracketed at openside flank, and at this point Pieter-Steph du Toit, who plays his 100th game in his former home city, is still the captain. However, as Erasmus explained, that could change if Kolisi is declared fit.
“If he gets through training that will mean Siya plays in the game, and that is why he is slashed with Paul on the team sheet,” explained Erasmus.
“As Siya is a doubt, we have kept Pieter-Steph as captain. But that can obviously change if Siya is declared fit to play.”
If Kolisi does play in Cape Town, his return will be the only change to the starting pack that played at Ellis Park. There are three changes at the back, with two of them maybe predicted after the Bok halfbacks struggled in the first test, with that struggle being a big reason why the Boks weren't able to get over the line as winners in a game they dominated up front.
POLLARD BACK AS HORSES FOR COURSES SELECTION
Cobus Reinach returns as the starting scrumhalf for Grant Williams, who drops out of the match day squad completely. Handre Pollard, who tends to play the Cape Town tests, and that may well be down to the Cape winter weather conditions, with rain predicted for the day of the game, comes in for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu though still retains a place on the bench as the only outside back and given his utility value he could still have a big role to play in the attempt to wrest the series back to one-all. The other backline change sees Ethan Hooker return on the wing for Cheslin Kolbe, who left the field at Ellis Park with cramp but Erasmus says that injury has now also been established as “a bit of an ankle”.
He even hinted that Kolbe might sneak back into the team later in the week, assuming he recovers, but it appears likely the more physically imposing Hooker will be wearing the No11 against the All Blacks this time.
As expected, the experienced duo of Thomas du Toit and Lood de Jager return to a bench that was less like the usual Bomb Squad, which is in its pure form an entire tight five waiting to take over, in Johannesburg. It will be recalled that De Jager almost singlehandedly shifted the momentum of the 2021 Lions series when he came on at halftime and his big ball carrying presence as well as his lineout intelligence is a welcome addition to the match day squad.
MORNE IN AS SCRUMHALF BACK-UP
Morne van den Bergh comes in as the replacement scrumhalf, while the insanely talented Cameron Hanekom is another loose-forward reserve, alone with the hybrid option Andre Esterhuizen, who retains his place, and of course Fourie, who played his way back into the squad with an outstanding game as fetcher for the Stormers against the All Blacks in the first game of the tour.
OX REACHES 50
Joining centurion Du Toit in making a landmark appearance for the Boks is loosehead prop, who will be reaching his 50 on Saturday. Ultimately All Black coach Dave Rennie was correct in his post-match prediction that the Boks would “double down”, meaning retain the same approach as last weekend. And why not, for with a little bit of fine-tuning the same kind of physical and territorial dominance will give the Boks a good chance of winning this time.
“Cheslin and Grant (Williams) suffered niggles last weekend, which ruled them out of contention for selection, while we have bracketed Siya alongside Paul to allow us time to monitor how Siya comes through training this week,” said Erasmus.
“The changes we made are in line with what we want to achieve on the field this week, and it is valuable that almost all of the players have been involved in the last two games, so they will be able to cope with the intensity and physicality of this match.”
Erasmus said it was exciting to have flyhalves with different skillsets in the squad: “Handre has delivered for us under extreme pressure, and we feel that what he and Cobus have the potential to bring at the beginning of the game, and then have Morne and Sacha come on later with their different styles of play will be good for us this weekend.”
Looking forward to the match, Erasmus said: “One could see the hurt on everyone’s faces after Saturday’s match, and we know what we have to do to bounce back strongly this week. While we are fully aware of the challenging task ahead, we have regrouped and identified the areas of our game we need to fix, so we are ready and excited for the match in Cape Town.”
MILESTONES FOR DU TOIT AND OX
The Bok coach was full of praise for Pieter-Steph du Toit and Nche, with both earning special career milestones this weekend.
“Pieter-Steph and Ox have been pillars of strength for us on and off the field, and they both deserve these accolades,” said Erasmus.
“It is a remarkable achievement to play 100 test matches, and for Pieter-Steph to deliver week in and week out the way he has over the years is incredible.
“We are equally proud of Ox for the player and team man he has grown into, and to see him reach 50 test caps is fantastic. That said, as a team, our focus is completely on Saturday’s game, and so is theirs, so our main objective is to deliver on the field. If we can do that, hopefully we will make it a memorable day for them.”
Erasmus expected another gruelling encounter against New Zealand on Saturday, and he emphasised the importance of converting the chances they create into points to earn the desired result.
“There were a handful of positives and negatives last week, but the main thing that let us down was that we created so many chances, but mistakes at crucial times cost us,” said the Bok coach.
“We’ll put in a lot of work this week to ensure that we are sharp in that regard this weekend because if we had used even some of those chances, the result could have been completely different.
“That said, we know New Zealand will be charged up after winning last week, and they will want to build on that. But the key for us will be to focus on our game and ensure that we are as effective as possible all around.”
The match kicks off at 17h10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Springbok team to face the All Blacks in Cape Town:
15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 53 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
14 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 33 caps, 125 pts (25t)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 91 caps, 115 pts (23t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 100 caps, 55 pts (11t)
11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 10 caps, 10 pts (2t)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 87 caps, 832 pts (8t, 130 c, 175 p, 5dg)
9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 54 caps, 100 pts (20t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 46 caps, 20 pts (4t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 99 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers) – 104 caps, 70 pts (14t) / Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 4 cap, 5 pts (1t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) - 21 caps, 5 pts (1t)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 143 caps, 45 pts (9t)
3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 32 caps, 10 pts (2t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 90 caps, 135 pts (27t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 49 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 13 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 20 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 34 caps, 10 pts (2t)
19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 74 caps, 25 pts (5t)
20 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)
21 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 5 pts (1t)
22 Morne van den Berg (10bet Lions) – 7 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 21 caps, 177 pts (9t, 45c, 14p)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 111, Won: 43, Lost: 64, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 866; Points against: 2 302; Tries scored: 182; Tries conceded: 253. Win per cent: 37,7 per cent.
Miscellaneous:
Pieter-Steph du Toit will become the 11th player in Springbok history to feature in 100 tests on Saturday after making his international debut against Wales in 2013. He will also be the second player in as many weeks to achieve this significant milestone after Damian de Allende earned his 100th last weekend.
Prop Ox Nche will join the select club of players who have played 50 tests.
Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok player of all time to 144 caps.
Should he take the field, Deon Fourie will become the oldest Springbok player to play in a test match at 39 years old, surpassing Victor Matfield and Schalk Brits, who were 38 years old in their last test matches.
This game will mark Fourie’s first game back since the RWC final in France, which also happened to be against the All Blacks, with the Boks winning the match 12-11 to lift the trophy.
The last time the Springboks met the All Blacks in Cape Town was in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in 2024, with the Boks winning the match 18-12.
The Castle Lager Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series marks the first time since 1996 that the All Blacks have embarked on a traditional rugby tour to South Africa.
The Springboks have won five of the last seven matches between the teams dating back to August 2023.
With Kolisi starting, the total test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 1012 – the highest ever fielded by South Africa. There are 428 caps in the backline, with 584 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 204 caps.
The average caps per player in the backline is 61, the forwards 73, while the players on the bench average 26.