Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus says he is excited to see how Aphelele Fassi will fare against a “heavily attack-orientated New Zealand backline” on Saturday.
Erasmus named his final 23-man squad that will go toe-to-toe against fierce rivals, the All Blacks. The game will get underway at the Ellis Park Stadium at 5pm.
Erasmus made nine changes to the team that defeated Australia 30-12 in Perth last weekend.
He recalled Wiese from suspension and paired Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje in the second row. This was because of injuries to six other locks for the first of two Tests against the All Blacks in South Africa.
Only three changes to the match day squad
However, there are only three changes to the match day squad that opened the series with a 33-7 victory in Brisbane. And two of those forced by injuries to locks.
Eben Etzebeth and Salmaan Moerat miss out due to injuries, while Fassi retains his spot at fullback ahead of Willie le Roux. The other locks unavailable for selection are RG Snyman (foot injury). Also Franco Mostert (broken leg), Lood de Jager (shoulder), and Jean Kleyn (eye and knee).
“It’s not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan stood his man in our last match. And we are confident that he’ll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock,” said Erasmus.
“This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.
“It’s also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back. We know that he’ll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field. And we are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.
“We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth. So we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black backline.”
Springbok team to face New Zealand in Johannesburg:
15 – Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 6 caps
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 35 caps
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 73 caps
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 82 caps
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps
10 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 6 caps
9 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 34 caps
8 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 27 caps
7 – Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 3 caps
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 86 caps
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps
4 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 81 caps
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 73 caps
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 72 caps
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 33 caps
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 69 caps
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 54 caps
19 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 22 caps
20 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 6 caps
21 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 45 caps
22 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 13 caps
23 – Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 73 caps
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 106, Won: 40. Lost: 62, Drawn: 4
