13 Changes And A New Captain! Erasmus Unleashes Fresh Springbok Lineup

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named a new-look team for their one-off Test against Australia in Perth on Saturday, with significant milestones ahead for No 8 Jasper Wiese and utility back Andre Esterhuizen.

Wiese will earn his 50th Test cap from the replacements bench, while Esterhuizen will become the 68th player to captain South Africa.

Erasmus has made 13 changes to his starting XV, with only lock Eben Etzebeth and wing Ethan Hooker retaining their places from the side that defeated the All Blacks 43-28 in Baltimore just over a week ago to clinch the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry title.

The changes see a new front row of props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Zachary Porthen, and hooker Johan Grobbelaar. Etzebeth will partner Franco Mostert in the second row, while Paul de Villiers and Elrigh Louw will start at flank, with Marco van Staden at No 8.

Erasmus has also opted for a new halfback pairing of Herschel Jantjies and Handre Pollard. Pollard has recovered from the niggle that sidelined him during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

Esterhuizen will partner Canan Moodie in midfield, while Hooker, Edwill van der Merwe and Aphelele Fassi form the back three.

In total, nine players in Erasmus’ match-day 23 featured in the final Test against the All Blacks in the USA.

Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Wilco Louw will provide front-row cover, while Lood de Jager will cover lock and Wiese will provide loose-forward cover.

The three backs on the replacements bench are scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and utility backs Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn.

“Each player in this squad has been working hard at training over the last few months and has had a chance to play in either the first leg of the Nations Championship or RGR, or both,” said Erasmus.

“Guys like Handre and Canan have also recovered from injury, and they are all quality players, so we are pleased to give them a run and excited to see this team in action.

“Australia poses a completely different threat to New Zealand in the way they play, so we believe these combinations are best suited to the challenge we will face against them.”

Erasmus was also pleased to see Esterhuizen lead the Springboks for the first time.

“He captained the Hollywoodbets Sharks, and he has brought so much to our squad, both on and off the field, at centre and in the loose trio, and he thoroughly deserves this opportunity.

“It will also help build our leadership core even more within the team, with several players having captained the side over the last few seasons, and we trust that he is the right man to take over the captaincy in this match.”

On the decision to release Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende from the squad, Erasmus said: “They had a heavy workload in the last few months, and they deserve a break. At the same time, we decided from the outset that, if everything went according to plan, we would rest them for this match, so it made sense to send them home to spend time with their families.”

Looking ahead to the Test against Australia, Erasmus said: “We’ve been working closely with our Head of Athletic Performance, Andy Edwards, on how best to manage the players to get the most out of them in this important encounter.

“We had a few days off to allow the players’ bodies to recover from the last few Tests and also from the travel. We then had two days of training in Terrigal and resumed our usual Test-week programme on Tuesday.

“This is going to be a big challenge against a team that has been playing good rugby and has won four of their last five matches, with their other result being a draw against the Pumas in Argentina.

“They also suffered a narrow defeat against Ireland in the Nations Championship and registered a comprehensive victory over Italy. They will be playing in front of their home crowd, so we know a big game lies ahead.

“They are a proud nation and will certainly want to continue building momentum going into their next two clashes against the All Blacks and the second leg of the Nations Championship in November, so they are going to throw everything at us.

“Adding to that, they have physical forwards and a very exciting backline, so it will take another big performance from us to get the result.”

The match kicks off at 11:45 SA time and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.