Rugby-Tshituka to debut for Springboks against Italy
(Reuters) -Loose-forward Vincent Tshituka will make a first test start for South Africa alongside several recalled Rugby World Cup winners for the first test against Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Tshituka, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, impressed in the 54-7 victory over the Barbarians in Cape Town last Saturday, but that was a non-cap game and so will officially debut against the Italians in Pretoria.
Damian Willemse returns at fullback and Handre Pollard takes over from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in an otherwise unchanged backline. Morne van den Berg keeps his place at scrumhalf.
Regular captain Siya Kolisi remains sidelined with injury so the back row of the scrum will feature Tshituka, Marco van Staden and number eight Jasper Wiese, who returns from a long injury absence.
Eben Etzebeth is back to partner Lood de Jager in the second row, while Malcolm Marx starts at hooker with props Ox Nche and Wilco Louw either side of him.
"We have a big squad, and we would like to balance the game time within the group, while at the same time maintaining continuity in selection, and we believe this is the team that will be best suited for what we want to achieve against Italy," coach Rassie Erasmus said.
"If one goes through this team, there are so many leaders, and we were impressed with how Jesse (Kriel) accepted the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband last week."
Lock RG Snyman, scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and fullback Willie le Roux are all two-time World Cup winners who will be on the bench this week. If the latter enters the field he will earn a 99th test cap.
The fixture is the first of two tests against Italy this month. The Springboks will also host Georgia on July 19.
South Africa team:
15-Damian Willemse, 14-Cheslin Kolbe, 13-Jesse Kriel (captain), 12-Damian de Allende, 11-Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10-Handre Pollard, 9-Morne van den Berg, 8-Jasper Wiese, 7-Vincent Tshituka, 6-Marco van Staden, 5-Lood de Jager, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Wilco Louw, 2-Malcolm Marx, 1-Ox Nche
Replacements: 16-Bongi Mbonambi, 17-Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18-Vincent Koch, 19-RG Snyman, 20-Franco Mostert, 21-Kwagga Smith, 22-Faf de Klerk, 23-Willie le Roux.
(Reporting by Nick Said)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-Dortmund's Ivory Coast forward Haller completes move to Utrecht
BERLIN (Reuters) -Borussia Dortmund's Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller has left after three years to join Dutch side Utrecht in a permanent deal, the German club said on Monday. The 31-year-old, who had been on loan at Utrecht since the start of the year, ends a rollercoaster spell with Dortmund, having recovered from cancer to return to action. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after joining the club from Ajax Amsterdam in July 2022. The striker underwent two surgeries and chemotherapy in the ensuing months before returning to play in early 2023. He featured in a total of 33 Bundesliga matches, scoring nine goals. 'Sebastien has written a special story here. He battled his cancer with impressive strength," said Dortmund sports director Sebastian Kehl. "Now he is returning to Utrecht – to a club that means a lot to him and for which he has regularly played in recent months. We wish Sebastien all the best for the future and, above all, good health." Haller played for Utrecht early in his career from 2015-17. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Celebration gone wrong, Forest goalkeeping coach gets stitches on head
(Reuters) -Joy turned to pain in an instant for Nottingham Forest goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa, whose celebration of Chris Wood's opener against Brentford ended with six stitches and a dizzy spell for him in their first Premier League game of the new season. Wood's fifth-minute goal, poked home following a corner, sparked jubilant scenes in the Forest dugout at the City Ground. However, Barbosa's enthusiasm turned painful when he smacked his head on the dugout during the celebrations. The club's medical staff swiftly treated a nasty cut on his head. "He has six stitches! It was a nasty one. A bad one. He was dizzy," Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo told reporters on Sunday. The 3-1 victory marked Forest's first opening-day Premier League win since the 1996-97 season, when they defeated Coventry City. (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by William Maclean)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Rugby-Much improvement needed from Argentina, says skipper
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Argentina Training - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - September 8, 2023 Argentina's Julian Montoya during training REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo (Reuters) -Argentina are going to have to improve both their discipline and defence if they are to bounce back against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship this weekend, warned captain Julian Montoya. The home side were handed a 41-24 defeat by the All Blacks in their opening clash of the southern hemisphere championship in Cordoba on Saturday and meet them again in Buenos Aires, with Montoya clear where they need to improve. "Our discipline cost us a lot of unforced errors, which gave them position and penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot with the penalties we were conceding, so when we look back on it, it hurts a lot," he told reporters. "After all that, credit to New Zealand. They're a good team who took advantage of every opportunity they had, and in the final minutes of each half, they scored very easily." Montoya said Argentina would need more focus at crucial junctures of Saturday's game, which will be played at Estadio José Amalfitani in the capital, after the loss in Cordoba. 'Many of our mistakes were made in the final minutes of each half, where they scored more points against us. So, those minutes are where we clearly have to do better. Last year, it was the early part of each half when they scored very easily against us. This time it was the other way around." Argentina fought their way back from 31-10 down at halftime to be only seven points behind with 12 minutes to go but then conceded two tries from lineout mauls to see any chance of a dramatic comeback slip away. "Clearly, the maul defence wasn't up to par. We have to improve, but we win together, we lose together, so we have to regroup, recover, look inward, and we'll come back,' the Pumas skipper said. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Sonali Paul)
