Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus has named an experienced line-up for their massive November Test showdown with France as captain Siya Kolisi reaches 100 caps.
With Les Bleus out for revenge in the first game between the two sides since the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, South Africa have rolled out a stacked line-up.
That includes the centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel with Canan Moodie not selected in the squad and Damian Willemse starting at full-back.
Willemse and Moodie were picked together in the historic Wellington success against the All Blacks, but the Boks have reverted to some tried and trusted combinations.
“We always planned to make a few changes for this match, and we’ll continue to rotate the players throughout the tour, so we can give as many players as possible a chance while at the same time trying to achieve our objectives on the field,” Erasmus, who will be in charge of his 50th match as head coach, said.
“This, however, is the team we feel is best suited to what we expect from France, and the way we would like to play this weekend. Many of them have also faced France in 2022 and 2023, so they know what to expect from the hosts and have also had a taste of what it is to play in front of their passionate home crowd.”
Siya Kolisi’s milestone
Kolisi will captain the Springboks on his 100th cap and is part of a trusted loose trio as Pieter-Steph du Toit returns to the back-row alongside number eight Jasper Wiese.
“This is a huge milestone for Siya and we are all delighted for him. He is a level-headed player and although this will be a big occasion for him, and a match that we would like to make special for him, he is fully focused on the task at hand, so he won’t allow that to overshadow what he must do on the field,” the head coach said.
“This is a huge game, and the entire team knows how determined France will be to make up for the World Cup result, so we’ll celebrate Siya’s achievement after the match. That said, hopefully we can make it a memorable game for him.”
Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth are the lock pairing, while Thomas du Toit returns at tighthead with Boan Venter coming in for the injured Ox Nche at loosehead. Hooker Malcolm Marx completes the pack.
Behind the scrum, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach are once again the half-back duo, while Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse combine with Willemse in the back three.
Finally, on the bench, with Venter starting, Erasmus has decided to keep an all-Bulls front-row in reserve as Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw look to make an impact in the second period.
RG Snyman and Ruan Nortje complete the out-and-out forward replacements, but it looks like Erasmus is continuing with the hybrid experiment as Andre Esterhuizen dons the 21 shirt.
Grant Williams and Manie Libbok are the half-back replacements and complete the line-up as the Springboks look to repeat their triumph from two years ago.
“France have a quality team all around, with good forwards and backs, and they are a side that plays for the full 80 minutes,” Erasmus added.
“They will also have a fanatical home crowd behind them, which will inspire them immensely, so we are fully aware of the magnitude of this match, and we know what we have to do on the field.
Source: PlanetRugby
