Springbok squad poses for team photo ahead of FNB Stadium Test
· The South African
The Springbok match-day 23-man squad to face the All Blacks in the third Test in ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ series meant business as they posed for the official team photograph on Friday.
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Smiles on faces were few and far between as the squad looks to take a 2-1 lead in the four-Test series this weekend.
Opted for continuity
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus opted for continuity in selection for the third Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against New Zealand at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday, 5 September, making only four changes and one positional switch to his starting team for the clash.
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The changes to the match-23 will see the front row of Ox Nche, Wilco Louw (both props) and Malcolm Marx (hooker) return to the starting team, with Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit and Deon Fourie switching to the replacements bench, while an injury-enforced change to versatile back Damian Willemse sees Cheslin Kolbe switch to fullback and Kurt-Lee Arendse being drafted onto the wing in the starting team.
Desperation
Erasmus expects the All Blacks to come out firing this weekend, saying they would have the same desperation to fight back after the Springboks’ 33-26 victory, saw the teams draw the series with two matches to play.
“We know how it felt after the first match in Johannesburg, and such a result really galvanises a team, so we have no doubt that they will go full-out to win this Test match before the series finale in the USA next week,” said Erasmus.
“They are one of the two best teams in the world and based on experience, they never give up, as we saw last weekend, so this will undoubtedly be another epic encounter between the sides.
“After two games, we are both into hard Test rugby mode, and we have a good idea of what to expect from one another, so it is going to be another grind of a match.”
The match kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Teams
South Africa15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Manie Libbok
New Zealand15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Peter Lakai, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 George Bower
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Josh Moorby
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)