Rassie makes bold changes to Springbok lineup for Wellington

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus announced a new-look backline for the second Test against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday, 13 September, giving Ethan Hooker his first start in the green and gold jumper.

The fourth-round Rugby Championship match at Sky Stadium will determine which team wins the Freedom Cup.

Erasmus made seven changes to his starting XV while keeping 16 players in the match-23 from the side that lost 24-17 to the All Blacks in Auckland last week.

New midfield pairing

He adjusted his backline, pairing Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at halfback, placing Damian Willemse and Canan Moodie in the midfield, positioning Ethan Hooker and Cheslin Kolbe on the wings, and slotting Aphelele Fassi at fullback, with regular captain Siya Kolisi leading the team.

Up front, Kolisi returns to flanker alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit, while No 8 Jasper Wiese makes his first appearance since facing Italy in the Incoming Series, following a four-match suspension.

The only change in the pack occurs at lock, where Lood de Jager joins Ruan Nortje, while Erasmus keeps the same front row with props Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit, and hooker Malcolm Marx.

Erasmus again sets five forwards and three backs on the replacements’ bench, with Marnus van der Merwe (hooker), Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Wilco Louw (props), RG Snyman (lock), and Kwagga Smith (loose forward) providing additional forward cover.

The backs on the bench include halfbacks Grant Williams and Manie Libbok, along with centre Andre Esterhuizen.

‘Exciting team’

“This is an exciting team, which we believe will provide us with the forward power we require, and spark in the backline against a quality All Blacks side,” said Erasmus.

“We’ve maintained consistency in selection to a large degree in the last few matches, but apart from what we feel some of the players selected can add to our attack, we’d like to see what some of the players can do against the top-ranked team in the world.

“This is a vital match for our Rugby Championship campaign, and we feel some fresh legs and energy are what we need to come away with the desired result.”

Erasmus added: “Every player in this squad knows we believe in them and back them, and this will serve as a great occasion for them to show us what they are capable of against a team such as the All Blacks.

“They have all done the job for us against some of the top teams in the world earlier this year, and others over the last few years, and we know they’ll relish this opportunity to face New Zealand in their backyard.”

‘Epic encounter’

Erasmus said they are expecting another epic encounter against their arch rivals.

“Both teams will be up for the challenge this week after having to cope with heavy rain at times in Auckland, and after the disappointing performance we delivered in the opening stages of that match, we know we need to be much more effective in all departments this week and produce a performance both us and our supporters can be proud of.

“We need a top-class performance to ensure that we are in contention to win the Rugby Championship.

“We know where we went wrong last week and what we must fix, and we’ll leave no stone unturned to fix those errors. There’s no doubt that we have to deliver a proper 80-minute performance to do well, and we will give everything to achieve that.”

The match kicks off at 09:05 (SA time).

TEAMS

New Zealand

TBA

South Africa

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian Willemse, 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 Lood de Jager, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche

Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen

Stats and facts

Springbok record against New Zealand

Played: 109, Won: 42, Lost: 63, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 807; Points against: 2 259; Tries scored: 175; Tries conceded: 247. Win %: 38.6%.

Miscellaneous

• Should the Springboks win the match, they will retain the Freedom Cup against New Zealand, which they won for the first time last year since 2009.
• The last time the teams met at the Sky Stadium was in 2019, where they played to a 16-16 draw, with the Boks winning the previous encounter between the sides 36-34 at the stadium.
• Springbok flanker Siya Kolisi will play his 96th Test match, leaving him only four matches short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game. He will lead South Africa for the 64th time.
• Jasper Wiese will return to the Springbok team for the first time since the team’s 45-0 victory against Italy in Gqeberha after serving a four-match suspension.
• The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up is 626. There are 173 caps in the backline, with 453 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 193 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 25, the forwards 57, while the players on the bench average 24.