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Eben Etzebeth captains much-changed Springboks against All Blacks
By Josh Raisey
Eben Etzebeth will make his return from a shoulder injury to captain South Africa this Saturday against the All Blacks in round two of the Rugby Championship in Auckland.
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The second-row will lead a much-changed side from the one that triumphed over Australia 43-12 in Pretoria, although that was expected after head coach Jacques Nienaber prematurely sent a squad of players to acclimatise in New Zealand. The front-row of Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe, as well as Lukhanyo Am and Willie le Roux are the only survivors from the starting XV at Loftus Versfeld.
“We planned to select a squad with a few key combinations of players who are fully acclimatised and settled in in New Zealand, while also selecting some players who started last week, and we are pleased with the balance we were able to strike with this squad,” Nienaber said.
“This allows us to give some players their first taste of international rugby this season alongside a group of players who come off a physical clash against the Wallabies, and we believe this will be beneficial against a top opponent in the All Blacks.
“The fact that we can give a few other players in the bigger squad a run this weekend is fantastic as we want to give as many players as possible game time with an eye on doing well in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and further ahead in the Rugby World Cup.”
Etzebeth has been out of action since the beginning of April after he suffered a shoulder injury while on duty with the Sharks against Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup. It was initially feared that he would miss the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship, so his return comes slightly sooner than expected and just in time for the crunch fixture at Mount Smart Stadium.
On the return of his 110-cap lock, Nienaber said: “Eben has been working very hard in the last few months to make a full recovery from his shoulder injury and it’s great to see him return to the field in this important fixture. He’s a vastly experienced player with 110 Test caps, he’s captained the Springboks before and he has been with the group of players in New Zealand for over a week, so he is the ideal person to lead the team this weekend.”
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Springbok team to face New Zealand:
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 84 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 23 caps, 74pts (11t, 2c, 5p)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 70 Tests, 45pts (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 36 caps, 110pts (22t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 28 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 46 Tests, 41pts (5t, 2c, 4p)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester) – 20 caps, 5pts (1t)
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 63 caps, 15pts (3t)
6 – Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs) – 31 caps, 20pts (4t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 25pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 110 caps, 15pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 59 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 57 caps, 60 pts (12t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 72 caps, 10pts (2t)
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 59 caps, 70pts (14t)
17 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 16 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Stade Francais) – 42 caps, 0 pts
19 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
20 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 67 caps, 30 pts (6t)
21 – Duane Vermeulen (SA Rugby) – 66 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks) – 2 caps, 0 pts
23 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 19 pts (8c, 1p)
Quotas still a factor, all these qualify as Poc:
Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 23 caps, 74pts (11t, 2c, 5p)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 70 Tests, 45pts (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 36 caps, 110pts (22t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 28 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)
This allows for a largely white pack with Bonambi exception. Truth is on form Esterhuizen would be in for DDA & start MArx to get at least 70 mins with him. Bongi's throwing was shyte vs AUS, Like Dweba who threw last years Ellis tourny match away.
Guys have got Quota's off the discussion list, but they lurk still
Duane was brilliant against the Wallabies. If rumors are to be believed, Duane (a student of the Nienaber defense system since the beginning of his career) is set to take on a coaching role with the boks after the WC. Imagine that!
The ABs are so good at winning in the last quarter. They don’t give up and always find a way to win. The bomb squad led by the defensive genius of Duane might be the beginning of a recipe to shut out the ABs in the dying stages. In fact I think this might be the start of a recipe for the World Cup. With a Willemse off the bench ala Frans Steyn.
That is a very formidable team. Huge forwards, great backline, and the most stacked forwards bench I have ever seen.
NZs lack of accuracy around the breakdown could be very badly exposed this week. With a forward pack like that NZ will be normally be looking to target the fringes, but with Faf, Kwagga, Marx, and a number of other so good over the ball out wide, NZ's forwards really have their work cut out to even retain possession let alone do much with it.
Frizzell dominated physically when NZ tipped SA over in Jo'burg last year, will need something even bigger from him this week.
I think NZ will do a lot of kicking in field, which people will find frustrating to watch, but they will want to get the big SA pack turning around and covering ground as much as possible.
So it's the regular starting 15 with changes at 10 and 6/7/8. Plus new captain.
With two of the regular starting back row on the bench, and the other 4 bench forwards pretty predictable, there is not much to quibble with. Maybe Van Staden or Roos. No cover for Kwagga is a risk, with all four other back row players being power players. Awesome pack and forward bench.
You have to love the tried and tested backline, with Willemse the least settled starter. It's the right call in the absence of Pollard, both for this game and for RWC prep. Expect a little more spark and a few more errors than Pollard would have delivered. Outside backs are fantastic, and ditto for midfield duo. Faf is Faf.
Libbok on the bench is as expected. You need flyhalf cover and there is not much choice. So you can directly replace Willemse if needed, or shift Willemse to another position and play Libbok at 10.
The biggest surprise is Williams, and congrats to him. He was quick and incisive against the Wallabies, but it's not obvious that he is the best sub at 9. Coaches need to figure out their scrum half pecking order with just a few pre-RWC games left. Bottom line on the backs bench is that both players have X-factor, and could open up the game in the last 20.
Of course it would be nice to have Siya and Pollard back. You can ask why Mostert starts ahead of PSDT, or Wiese ahead of Vermeulen. And you can get a little nervous about exposure at open side flank. But overall this is an excellent team.
Also love the Etzebeth captaincy. Kitshoff would have been the alternative, but less likely to play the full 80.