Rassie makes many changes to Bok squad for second Test against Australia

TimesLIVE

2 days ago

In response to the disappointing 38-22 loss to Australia at Ellis Park at the weekend, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has made wholesale changes for the second Test in Cape Town on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Erasmus announced a team with 10 changes to the starting line-up to be led by centre Jesse Kriel with prop Ox Nche named vice-captain for the first time since his Springbok debut against Wales in Washington DC in 2018.
Cheslin Kolbe, Damian de Allende and Bok centurion Willie le Roux are back in the team and the five players who will start for the second week in a row are Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams and Kriel.
Kriel has taken over the captaincy from injured Siya Kolisi while Franco Mostert, Canan Moodie, Wilco Louw, Boan Venter, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith and Cobus Reinach are the other players who will get another run against the visitors.
Only five players have been retained in the #Springboks starting team from last week as they look to bounce back in Cape Town 👊 #ForeverGreenForeverGold
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Four players were ruled out of contention due to injury: Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe.
The only change to Erasmus' front row was the inclusion of prop Thomas du Toit, who will pack down with Nche and Marx and there is a new lock pairing of RG Snyman and Ruan Nortje.
Van Staden will form the loose trio with Mostert and Jean-Luc du Preez.
In the backline the experienced duo of Kriel and De Allende reunite in the midfield for the 38th time, while Williams and Handré Pollard will partner at halfback.
Kolbe and Canan Moodie are in at wing and Le Roux, who became only the eighth player in South African rugby history to earn 100 Test caps against Georgia last month, completes the backline at fullback.
Erasmus named six forwards and two backs on the replacements bench, where Marnus van der Merwe, Venter and Louw will serve as the impact front row with the experienced trio of Etzebeth, De Jager, and Smith.
The two backline players on the bench are the versatile Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
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Erasmus attributed the changes to injuries and strategic adjustments for the second Test.
'We lost four players to injury last weekend, which had an impact on a few of our selections, but we also know where we went wrong against Australia last week,' he said.
'So we made a few changes we believe will offer us what we need for this game. Damian and Cheslin have also recovered from their injuries and with their experience and knowledge of the Wallabies it was a logical choice to recall them.'
Erasmus said they want to correct the mistakes of the past weekend and explained the inclusion of Venter and Nortje.
'We are determined to get things right this week. Boan got a taste of what it's like to face Australia last week and Ruan did well against them last year, while it will be good for a few other guys to experience playing against one the top teams in the world, especially as we continue to build our squad depth.
'We are pleased with this squad and we are all aligned on what we have to do to lift our standards this week.'
Erasmus added he expects another physical battle from the confident Wallabies.
'There's no doubt they'll take a lot of confidence from their victory last week and especially since that marked their first victory at Ellis Park against us in the professional era.
'We are still hurting from that result and the coaches and players are disappointed with the way we played last week. We know we didn't play according to our standards in the second half and we must rectify that.
'We let ourselves and the country down, so we have all the motivation we need to make things right this week.'
Springbok team to face Australia in Cape Town: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Canan Moodie, 13. Jesse Kriel (capt), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Cheslin Kolbe, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Grant Williams, 8. Jean-Luc du Preez, 7. Franco Mostert, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. RG Snyman, 3. Thomas du Toit, 2. Malcolm Marx, 1. Ox Nche