Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus stuck to his tried and tested combinations for their third Castle Lager Rugby Championship encounter against the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.
Erasmus made only four changes to the starting team that beat the Wallabies in Cape Town, with Jesse Kriel retaining the captaincy. The match will kick off at 9am (SA time).
Erasmus handed the captaincy to Kriel, even though Siya Kolisi was declared fit to play on Saturday.
Erasmus explained his decision to hand the captaincy to Kriel on the SA Rugby website: “We didn’t want to risk Siya unnecessarily for the match earlier in the week due to a niggle he picked up a few weeks ago, but with Jean-Luc du Preez picking up a niggle at training this week, Siya was the obvious choice to slot in at No. 8.
“At that stage, Jesse had already been told he would be the captain, and it was only fair for us to keep things that way.
“He’s a great leader and one of the core players in our team. His communication with the referee and his teammates is excellent, and he sets an example in his play, making him deserving of this opportunity.
“It will also be a big occasion for him to captain the team against the All Blacks for the first time, so we are proud of Jesse, and we know he’ll carry this responsibility with great pride.”
Huge battle anticipated
Zoning in on the match, Erasmus expects it to be an emotionally charged encounter and a huge battle all around.
“Matches between the Springboks and All Blacks are always intense, and we know neither team will hold back,” said Erasmus.
“They’ve announced a quality team with a strong forward pack and exciting backs, so we are under no illusion about the challenge ahead.
“There have been a few big scores between the sides in the past, but also many tight battles, so the most important aspects for us will be to execute our game plan as well as we can, fight fire with fire, and be effective in every aspect of our game.
“Every point will count in this match, so we need to be sharp mentally and physically and ensure that we leave nothing out on the field.”
Springbok team to face New Zealand at Eden Park:
15 Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls)
14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath)
13 Jesse Kriel (captain, Canon Eagles)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)
11 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls)
9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
8 Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls)
5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls)
17 Boan Venter (Edinburgh)
18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls)
19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights)
20 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)
21 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers)
22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers)
23 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
