It was confirmed on Tuesday that injuries and the desire to try a few new player combinations have led Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber to include eight new players in the starting team for this weekend’s rematch against Australia. BREAKING: BOKS WIELD AXE FOR WALLABIES CLASH, MOODIE TO DEBUT Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Pieter-Steph…
du Toit were all ruled out due to knee injuries, while Elton Jantjies injured his hand and was not available for selection this weekend.
Bongi Mbonambi is also still out injured due to a knee injury.
“Handre, Lukhanyo, Elton and Pieter-Steph are all carrying injuries which adds to a list that includes Cheslin Kolbe and Sbu Nkosi, while Kurt-Lee Arendse is also out serving a suspension, and this has forced our hand to make a few changes in some positions,” Nienaber commented.
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It’s believed that Pollard and Am will both be out of action for several weeks, and are set to miss the rest of the Rugby Championship.
Springboks team to face Australia in Sydney:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 76 caps, 65 pts (13t)14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – uncapped13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 53 caps, 60 pts (12t)12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 35 pts (7t)11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 30 caps, 105 pts (21t)10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 21 caps, 12 pts (1t, 2c, 1p)9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 7 caps, 5 pts (1t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 15 caps, 0 pts7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 56 caps, 5pts (1t)6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 68 caps, 35 pts (7t)5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 61 caps, 25 pts (5t)4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 103 caps, 15 pts (3t)3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 5 pts (1t)2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 52 caps, 55 pts (11t)1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 64 caps, 5 pts (1t)
Replacements:
16 – Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0pts17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 12 caps, 0pts18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 57 caps, 5pts (1t)19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 24 caps, 15 pts (3t)20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 21 caps, 40pts (8t)22 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 75 caps, 150 pts (11t, 7c, 24p, 3d)23 – Warrick Gelant (Racing 92) – 11 caps, 15 pts (3t)
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Springbok record against the Wallabies in Australia:
Played 42; Won 12; Lost 28; Drawn 2; Points for: 702, Points against: 925; Tries scored 82, Tries conceded 94; Highest score 38-12 in Brisbane (2013); Biggest win 26 points in Brisbane (2013). Win % 28,6%.
Milestones:
Malcolm Marx is the top try scorer in the squad against Australia with three tries in seven Test matches.Siya Kolisi has played 38 Tests as captain, making him the second most capped Springbok captain behind John Smit, who led the team in 83 Tests.
Miscellaneous:
The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up isThere are 257 caps in the backline with 470 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 264The average caps per player in the backline are 36, the forwards 58, while the players on the bench average 33.
