Springbok Team To Face All Blacks: Du Toit And Ox Headline Most Experienced Bok Team Ever
Springbok utility forward Pieter-Steph du Toit will mark the significant achievement of becoming the 11th player in Springbok history to earn 100 Test caps, while prop Ox Nche will join the club of players to have earned 50 caps when the Boks face New Zealand in Cape Town on Saturday in the second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a similar starting XV to the one that faced the All Blacks in Johannesburg last week. The only changes see Siya Kolisi bracketed alongside Paul de Villiers at flank, Handre Pollard and Cobus Reinach starting as the halfback pairing, and Ethan Hooker replacing Cheslin Kolbe on the wing after Kolbe picked up a niggle in the first Test.
Should Kolisi come through training comfortably this week, he will replace de Villiers and join Du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the loose trio. Hooker’s inclusion sees Kurt-Lee Arendse switch from the left to the right wing, forming an exciting back three alongside Damian Willemse. Du Toit retains the captaincy.
If Kolisi runs out at DHL Stadium, it will be the most experienced Springbok team ever to take the field, with a combined 1,012 Test caps in the starting XV.
The changes on the bench see the inclusion of 39-year-old Deon Fourie in a back-up front row alongside Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit. Lood de Jager (lock) and Cameron Hanekom (loose forward) will join hybrid forward Andre Esterhuizen among the replacements.
The two replacement backs are scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and the versatile Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
All the players in the matchday squad, with the exception of Fourie – who last wore the green and gold jersey in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final – featured in the Boks’ last two Test matches against Argentina and the All Blacks.
“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 skill sets 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 having Morne and Sacha come on later with their different styles of play, will be good for us this weekend.”
Looking ahead 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.”
The Bok coach was full of praise for Du Toit and Nche, with both players set to reach 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 expects another gruelling encounter against New Zealand on Saturday and emphasised the importance of converting the chances they create into points to secure 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 points (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
14 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 33 caps, 125 points (25t)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 91 caps, 115 points (23t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 100 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 10 caps, 10 points (2t)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 87 caps, 832 points (8t, 130c, 175p, 5dg)
9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 54 caps, 100 points (20t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 46 caps, 20 points (4t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 99 caps, 70 points (14t)
6 Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers) – 104 caps, 70 points (14t) / Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 5 points (1t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) – 21 caps, 5 points (1t)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 143 caps, 45 points (9t)
3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 32 caps, 10 points (2t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 90 caps, 135 points (27t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 49 caps, 0 points
Replacements:
16 Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 13 caps, 10 points (2t)
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 20 caps, 10 points (2t)
18 Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 34 caps, 10 points (2t)
19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 74 caps, 25 points (5t)
20 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 points (6t)
21 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 5 points (1t)
22 Morne van den Berg (10bet Lions) – 7 caps, 25 points (5t)
23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 21 caps, 177 points (9t, 45c, 14p)
