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Springboks make 8 changes for All Blacks Test
By Ian Cameron
Head coach Jacques Nienaber has made eight changes for their Twickenham Test against the All Blacks this weekend.
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Nienaber keeps five from the winning pack against Wales: Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Siya Kolisi, and Pieter Steph Du Toit.
Manie Libbok and Canan Moodie start, though Moodie shifts from the wing to centre. Faf De Klerk is back at scrumhalf in new halfback pairing with Libbok.
“Our objective since the beginning of the season was to strike a balance between performance and managing player load with only six Test matches to get ready for the World Cup, and we are pleased with the way we have developed in that regard.
“The All Blacks will provide a different challenge to Wales, and we believe this group of players is the right mix for this match,” said Nienaber.
“New Zealand play a high-tempo game, and they turn on the intensity from the starting whistle as they showed in Auckland, so it’s vital that we start well this week.
“In the last five matches we’ve given everyone, with the exception of the injured players, valuable game time, which is vital going into the World Cup, and we are satisfied with the way we have been building as a team,” said Nienaber.
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“The rivalry between the Springboks and All Blacks is one of the most intense in world rugby, so it’s a great way for us to wrap up our warm-up matches before heading to France for the World Cup.
“This match may be on neutral ground, but we expect it to be as epic as every other Test between the teams. They are a quality team with several playmakers and physical forwards, and they’ll give everything on Friday.
“We know what to expect and what we need to do to work our way into a position to get the desired result, so as a team we need to be ready mentally and physically.”
Springbok team to face New Zealand in London:
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15 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)
14 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls)
13 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
10 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles)
8 – Duane Vermeulen (SA Rugby)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster)
REPLACEMENTS:
16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
17 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92)
19 – Jean Kleyn (Munster)
20 – RG Snyman (Munster)
21 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls)
22 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier)
23 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls)
This looks like fun, libbok is a lucky boytjie!
Feels like a waste of time for both squads but hey, money talks.
Hard to get overly excited about these warm up games as they mean nothing. Team's have the box of cotton wool out with player protection & will tend to lean toward tactically ho hum plays, not showcasing too much. These 'tests' are essentially dead rubbers so why are some of the contributors here getting a bit prickly with each other. Take a breath boys & save it for the business end
Finally the Bomb Squad starts a test (that is the BS right?)! Great that Kolisi is back, but is his injury fully repaired and rebuilt? Any team without their 1st class fly half has a challenge (thinking Pollard and Ntamak). I hope we (the All Blacks) don't lose Richie Mounga in this money spinner warm up. Every test v the Boks is important!
Keen to see what the All Blacks put out- Heavy looking Bench, can run the Boks coast to coast in the 2nd half. A new centre combo to target. That midfield kicking game really made the Bok fwds huff and puff the last time out.
Tickets booked going to be a humdinger,go Boks
Really like the calls here. Andre and Moodie will be fun to watch, as will Willemse and Libbok at 15 and 10. Awesome pack, and nice to see KLA plus Mapimpi getting a run. Also hope we see Reinach on early.
ABs will not get that early cushion that they pulled off in the RC game. The Boks have spent plenty of time fixing those particular holes in the boat. My hope is that they have identified some more weaknesses in the Bok defense. It would be great if they could expose those, so that the team can do some more adjustments before the RWC.
While both teams will want to win this, the outcome of this game will not have any significance wrt to the RWC. It will be a great game, but they will both adopt baseline tactics and will not show all of their tactical cards. If they meet in the QF or Final we will see the full bag of tricks on both sides.
Awesome to see such confidence in a mostly second string Bok backline.
The pack looks solid, but even a 3rd string ABs back line might cause problems for that Bok back line as it stands. I’d rather have Willemse at outside centre than Moody and have Moody as back up. We’ll see how this experiment turns out.
If anyone needed confirmation that Pollard and Am were not part of the plans then this is it. Springboks will go with what they have. Moodie at outside centre is a brave call and two locks on the bench is also quite brave especially when the skipper only has 40mins under his belt and the number 8 is all of 37 years old. Mostert may find himself on the flank at the end of the game or Kleyn might just be the new back up flanker. Who knows what this lot are thinking
Fire 🔥!! So glad I’ll be at this match !