South Africa team named five days before Scotland clash with 10 changes to side that smashed England
Edinburgh Rugby prop Boan Venter to start for Springboks in Nations Championship match
South Africa have gone early in naming their starting XV and replacements for this Saturday’s Nations Championship match with Scotland in Pretoria.
Rassie Erasmus has made ten changes to the side that hammered England 45-21 in Johannesburg at the weekend with Edinburgh prop Boan Venter coming in at loose-head. The 29-year old, who is leaving the Hive this summer to join United Rugby Championship rivals Fidelity SecureDrive Lions in his homeland, was not included in the 23-man squad for their opening fixture of the new competition.
Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Paul de Villiers, and Ruan Nortje are the only players to retain their spots in the starting XV to face Scotland at Loftus Versfeld. The Boks are without Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker through injury.
Springboks head coach names team to take on ‘quality side’ Scotland at Loftus Versfeld
“We have good depth in our squad, and this will be a great test for the team,” said Erasmus. “We told the players from the outset that we would give as many of them a chance as possible to play this season, while we are also trying to manage some players, while others are not available for selection this week, so it was important to select a team with some continuity from last week, while bringing in players we believe will be the right fit for what we are expecting from Scotland.
“They had a good Six Nations campaign, and they come off a victory against Argentina away, so they will be psyched up going into this match. All of the players have been working extremely hard at training, and they are fully aware of the threat Scotland poses.
“Many of these combinations have played together for the Springboks and for their provincial teams this season. Many of the players will also be playing at their home ground at Loftus Versfeld, so they know the field and conditions well.”
Commenting on what they expected from Scotland, the Boks’ head coach added: “They are a quality team, who will test us in all areas of the game, and they are well coached, so they will throw everything they have at us.
“Matches against them are always tough, and looking back, there have been some very close encounters between the sides in the past, so we need to be switched on from the first whistle, be accurate in all departments of the game, and use our opportunities if we want to get the desired result.”
Springbok team to face Scotland in Pretoria: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian Willemse, Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier. 1 Boan Venter, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Cobus Wiese, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Paul de Villiers, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Evan Roos. Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zach Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Vincent Tshituka, Elrigh Louw, Grant Williams, Quan Horn.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.