What do you think of Springboks team named to face All Blacks?

Lock Eben Etzebeth will make a notable return from a shoulder injury as the captain of the Springboks team to face New Zealand in the second Rugby Championship Test in Auckland on Saturday.

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There are several first-choice players back in the team after last weekend’s win over the Wallabies, while the likes of RG Snyman, Grant Williams and Manie Libbok will have more opportunities off the bench.

*Let us know what you think of the Springboks team selection by clicking on the add comment button at the end of the article.

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“We planned to select a squad with a few key combinations of players who are fully acclimatised and settled in in New Zealand, while also selecting some players who started last week, and we are pleased with the balance we were able to strike with this squad,” said coach Jacques Nienaber.

“This allows us to give some players their first taste of international rugby this season alongside a group of players who come off a physical clash against the Wallabies, and we believe this will be beneficial against a top opponent in the All Blacks.

“The fact that we can give a few other players in the bigger squad a run this weekend is fantastic as we want to give as many players as possible game time with an eye on doing well in the Rugby Championship and further ahead in the Rugby World Cup.”

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SPRINGBOKS TEAM TO FACE NEW ZEALAND IN AUCKLAND:

15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 84 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 23 caps, 74pts (11t, 2c, 5p)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 70 Tests, 45pts (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 36 caps, 110pts (22t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 28 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 46 Tests, 41pts (5t, 2c, 4p)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester) – 20 caps, 5pts (1t)
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 63 caps, 15pts (3t)
6 – Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs) – 31 caps, 20pts (4t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 25pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 110 caps, 15pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 59 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 57 caps, 60 pts (12t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 72 caps, 10pts (2t)

Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 59 caps, 70pts (14t)
17 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 16 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Stade Francais) – 42 caps, 0 pts
19 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
20 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 67 caps, 30 pts (6t)
21 – Duane Vermeulen (SA Rugby) – 66 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks) – 2 caps, 0 pts
23 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 19 pts (8c, 1p)

HAVE YOUR SAY: Rate the referee: How well did you feel Ben O’Keeffe officiated?

SPRINGBBOKS RECORD AGAINST NEW ZEALAND

Played 103; Won 38; Lost 61; Drawn 4; Points for: 1 674, Points against: 2 143; Tries scored 160, Tries conceded 234; Highest score 46-40; Biggest win 17 points. Win % 37%.

Milestones:

• Eben Etzebeth will captain the Springboks for the 13^th time on Saturday. His last Test as captain was on 20 July 2019 against Australia at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.
• Saturday’s clash will mark the 28^th time Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am join forces in the Springbok midfield.
• The last time the Springboks suffered a defeat in New Zealand was in 2017. They beat the All Blacks 36-34 in 2018, while the sides played to a 16-16 draw in 2019.

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 797.
• There are 320 caps in the backline, with 477 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 280 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 45, the forwards 59, while the players on the bench average 35.

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