Rassie Erasmus has made a major reshuffle to the Springbok starting XV for Sunday’s Test against Australia in Perth, with Andre Esterhuizen handed the captaincy and Jasper Wiese set to reach a significant career milestone, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Erasmus has made 13 changes to the starting team that defeated the All Blacks 43-28 in Baltimore, with only Eben Etzebeth and Ethan Hooker retaining their places in the run-on side.
The match will be a particularly memorable one for Esterhuizen, who will captain South Africa for the first time and become the 68th player to lead the Springboks.
Wiese, meanwhile, is just one appearance away from his 50th Test cap. The No. 8 will begin the match on the replacements bench.
The sweeping changes come after South Africa’s victory over New Zealand secured the inaugural Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry title.
The new-look pack features Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen in the front row, with Etzebeth partnering Franco Mostert at lock.
Paul de Villiers and Elrigh Louw will operate at flank, while Marco van Staden starts at No 8.
Behind them, Herschel Jantjies returns at scrumhalf alongside Handre Pollard at flyhalf. Pollard has recovered from the niggle that ruled him out during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
Esterhuizen will line up at inside centre alongside Canan Moodie, while Hooker, Edwill van der Merwe and Aphelele Fassi make up the back three.
Nine players in the 23-man squad were involved in the Springboks’ most recent Test against New Zealand.
Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Wilco Louw provide front-row cover from the bench, with Lood de Jager covering lock and Wiese offering loose-forward cover.
Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn make up the backline replacements.
Erasmus said the changes reflect the work put in by the wider squad throughout the recent Test campaigns.
‘Each player in this squad has been working hard at training over the last few months and has had a chance to play in either the first leg of the Nations Championship or RGR, or both, while guys like Handre and Canan have recovered from injury, and they are all quality players, so we are pleased to give them a run and we are excited to see this team in action,’ said Erasmus.
‘Australia poses a completely different threat to New Zealand in the way they play, so we believe these combinations would be best suited for the challenge that we will face against them.’
Esterhuizen gets his chance to lead
For Esterhuizen, the appointment represents another step in an increasingly versatile international career.
The Sharks star has previously captained his franchise and has also been used by Erasmus in the loose trio, adding another dimension to his value within the Springbok setup.
Erasmus believes that experience makes him well suited to the responsibility in Perth.
‘He captained the Hollywoodbets Sharks, and he has brought so much to our squad off and on the field, both at centre and in the loose trio, and he thoroughly deserves this opportunity,’ said Erasmus.
‘It will also help build our leadership core even more within the team with several players having captained the side over the last few seasons, and we trust that he is the right man to take over the captaincy in this match.’
Two experienced players, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende, have also been released from the Springbok camp.
Erasmus said the decision was part of the team’s workload management after a demanding few months.
‘They had a heavy workload in the last few months, and they deserve a break, but at the same time we decided from the outset that if everything went according to plan, we would rest them for this match, so it made sense to send them home to spend time with their families,’ he said.
Australia presents another test
South Africa’s focus now turns to an Australian side Erasmus believes will provide a very different challenge to the All Blacks.
The Springboks have also had to manage the physical demands of recent matches and international travel, with the squad given time to recover before returning to their normal Test-week preparations.
‘We’ve been working closely with our Head of Athletic Performance Andy Edwards on how best to manage the players to get the most out of them in this important encounter, so we had a few days off for the players’ bodies to recover from the last few Tests and also from the travel, so we had two days of training in Terrigal and resumed our usual Test week programme on Tuesday,’ Erasmus said.
The Bok coach is under no illusion about what awaits them in Perth.
‘This is going to be a big challenge against a team that has been playing good rugby, and who have won four of their last five matches, with their other result being a draw against the Pumas in Argentina,’ he said.
‘They also suffered a narrow defeat against Ireland in the Nations Championship and registered a comprehensive victory over Italy, and they will be playing in front of their home crowd, so we know a big game lies ahead.’
Erasmus expects Australia to throw everything into the contest as it looks to build momentum ahead of its upcoming fixtures.
‘They are a proud nation and will certainly want to continue building momentum going into their next two clashes against the All Blacks and the second leg of the Nations Championship in November, so they are going to throw everything at us,’ he said.
‘Adding to that, they have physical forwards and a very exciting backline, so it will take another big performance from us to get the result.’
The Test kicks off at 11:45 South African time on Sunday.
Springbok team to face Australia
15 Aphelele Fassi
14 Edwill van der Merwe
13 Canan Moodie
12 Andre Esterhuizen
11 Ethan Hooker
10 Handre Pollard
9 Herschel Jantjies
8 Marco van Staden
7 Elrigh Louw
6 Paul de Villiers
5 Franco Mostert
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Zachary Porthen
2 Johan Grobbelaar
1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements:
16 Malcolm Marx
17 Ox Nche
18 Wilco Louw
19 Lood de Jager
20 Jasper Wiese
21 Morne van den Berg
22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
23 Quan Horn
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Picture: Sydney Seshibedi / Gallo Images
