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11 XV changes for the Springboks who also go with 7/1 bench split

Supporters cheer as the South African players line up for their national anthem last September in Mbombela (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images)

Rassie Erasmus has announced a Springboks line-up to take on Scotland that has 11 changes from their last outing six weeks ago.

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South Africa clinched The Rugby Championship title with a 48-7 win over Argentina in Mbombela on September 28 and their Autumn Nations Series return to action in Edinburgh on Sunday comes with an XV showing six switches in the backs and five more in the pack.

Scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse is the only backline starter retained from the title-clinching win over the Pumas as Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi and Handre Pollard have all been included to start.

Video Spacer

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Video Spacer

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Up front, loosehead Ox Nche, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and lock Eben Etzebeth are the three repeats, with Etzebeth skippering the side in the absence of Siya Kolisi, the regular skipper who on this occasion forms part of a seven-one forwards/backs bench split. Grant Williams is the only specialist back providing cover.

Explaining his lop-sided bench, Erasmus said: “This is a seasoned and quality team and adding to that 21 of the 23 players have won a Rugby World Cup title, with some having won two, so they know what it takes to perform at this level.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

4
Wins
4
1
Streak
3
30
Tries Scored
20
114
Points Difference
72
4/5
First Try
4/5
3/5
First Points
3/5
4/5
Race To 10 Points
4/5

Many of these combinations have also played together this season, which will be valuable against a quality team such as Scotland. We are expecting an extremely physical match, so we opted for a seven-one split of forwards on the bench, and this was aided by the fact that we have such versatile players in the backline, who can cover different positions if necessary.”

Regarding Kwagga Smith, who is poised for his 5oth cap, the head coach added: “Kwagga is a vastly talented player and a fantastic team member, and I’m delighted to see him reach this big career milestone.

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“It takes a special player who performs consistently well over a few years to reach this achievement, and Kwagga has certainly done so while maintaining the same high standards at training and on the field. We are very proud of him.”

South Africa (vs Scotland, Sunday)
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 97 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 25 pts (5t)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 40 caps, 35 pts (7t)
12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 18 caps, 0 pts
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 45 caps, 150 points (30t)
10 – Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 77 caps, 755 points (7t, 105c, 165p, 5dg)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 18 caps, 19 pts (2t, 3c, 1p)
8 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 49 caps, 45 points (9t)
7 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 10 caps, 0 points
6 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 23 caps, 10 pts (2t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 76 caps, 15 points (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 128 caps, 30 points (6t)
3 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 21 caps, 0 pts
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 75 caps, 75 points (15t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 37 caps, 0 points

Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 73 caps, 105 points (21t)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 0 points
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 58 caps, 0 points
19 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 37 caps, 10 points (2t)
20 – Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 89 caps, 60 points (12t)
21 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 84 caps, 55 points (11t)
22 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 31 caps, 5 points (1t)
23 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 15 caps, 10 points (2t)

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Comments

8 Comments
D
DA 11 days ago

why do yo put PUT WILLIE in small print and the rest in BOLD

R
RW 12 days ago

In a bizzare nightmare scenario, Kwagga ends the game at flyhalf:)

H
Hellhound 12 days ago

Many surprises and definitely not what people expected. Yet, WC winners galore in this team. To say this is a B team or C team is showing just how deep the talent pool in SA is and that is very scary. This team is scary. Thinking about those who is currently thought of as the A-team not even mentioned and only a fool would underestimate this Bok team. This team would be most other countries "A team". The Scots is a good team, but they just don't have the star quality the Boks does. Many of these players "used to be" the A team.


Like it or not, but Wow. No wonder the Boks is hated so much. Their is many other players without caps that would easily make the national teams of others, nevermind the current crop of Boks

J
Jacque 12 days ago

I CAN ALREADY HEAR MATT WILLIAMS MOANING ABOUT THIS🤣

B
Bull Shark 12 days ago

What a formidable B Team. Saving the A Team for England Obvs.

H
Hellhound 12 days ago

More like Rassie is still experimenting with different combinations and tactics. He isn't going to let any team stop him from finding the exact team needed to take the next WC. His vision is long term and we will never get the same team or the strongest team. That we will see in '27. He always leave something for the imagination

S
SF 12 days ago

Brilliant team. Only concern is Moodie's defence. It will be a game of two halves with that bench

D
DV 12 days ago

Not a team I would have chosen but I ain't Rassie.

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JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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