Springboks seek vital win to remain in Rugby Championship contention

The Springboks are set to take on the All Blacks in their second match of the New Zealand tour on Saturday, with the starting lineup having undergone several changes in the hopes of bouncing back from last week’s defeat.

After two uninspiring matches against Australia at home, South Africa traveled to New Zealand, hoping to get back on track, leave their poor form behind, and start the tour with a win.

However, several unforced errors throughout the game and a failure to capitalise on opportunities saw the visitors lose the match 24-17.

The home side’s extension of their Eden Park winning streak to 51 games meant South Africa dropped to the bottom of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship log.

However, head coach Rassie Erasmus got creative over the weekend, announcing a new-look backline, comprising five changes from the previous match.

Most notably, backline veterans Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende have been replaced by Canan Moodie, who moves in from wing, and Damian Willemse.

Ethan Hooker, who plays at centre for the Sharks, will be replacing Moodie on the backline’s left-hand flank, with Cheslin Kolbe starting on the right. Aphelele Fassi will start at fullback, replacing Will le Roux.

Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be pairing up at halfback, with Grant Williams dropping to the bench for the first time this tournament.

Erasmus said that his decision to bring in players like Hooker and Feinberg-Mngomezulu into the starting lineup is less about fresh legs and more about getting them comfortable under the pressure of playing the All Blacks at home.

As for the forwards, number eight Jasper Wiese will be starting after returning from suspension, who Erasmus says will most likely not play the complete eighty, but will definitely be important in Saturday’s game. 

Captain Siya Kolisi will start at flank in place of Marco van Staden, with Lood de Jager at lock being the only other forward change. 

Kolisi will earn his 96th Test cap on Saturday, bringing him four games closer to becoming the ninth Springbok to reach the century mark.

The two sides will face up at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday at 9.05 a.m. SAST.

Lineups

Bench

• Marnus van der Merwe
• Jan-Hendrik Wessels
• Wilco Louw
• RG Snyman
• Kwagga Smith
• Grant Williams
• Manie Libbok
• Andre Esterhuizen

Bench

• Brodie McAlister
• Tamaiti Williams
• Fletcher Newell
• Fabian Holland
• Du’Plessis Kirifi
• Finlay Christie
• Quinn Tupaea
• Ruben Love

Coaches weigh in on the occasion

In response to the Erasmus’ backline changes, New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson said they weren’t unexpected.

“He’s picked that team to win it, he’s picked those players for their strengths, so we’re aware of those strengths, and then you go back to your own and what is going to be required for us to win this Test match,” Robertson said.

He added that he will be expecting the same level of physicality from his team as he saw in Auckland last week.

Erasmus said that Saturday’s game will be vital to ensuring the team’s continued participation in this year’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

“We need a top-class performance to ensure that we are in contention to win the Castle Lager Rugby Championship,” he said.

“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.”

Springbok women in the quarter finals

The Springbok women’s team will also be taking on New Zealand on Saturday. However, with far more at stake.

After defeating Italy in the group stage of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, the Bok women made it into finals of the tournament for the first time in history with one game to spare.

According to the World Rugby rankings, the Boks are currently ranked tenth in the world, with New Zealand at three.

Captain Nolusindiso Booi said that her and the team are going into the match with the intention of playing with maximum effort and will be proud no matter the outcome.

“This is the moment we worked for, and we owe it our ourselves, our supporters, our sponsors and everyone who invested time, effort and money into this team, to go out there guns blazing,” she said.

“If we come up short but we gave it all, even then it will be worth it.”

The match kicks off on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. SAST.