By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named an exciting matchday 23 that will be captained by flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit and features four uncapped players.
Winger Edwill van der Merwe and flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse are the two uncapped players named in the run-on team, while lock Ben-Jason Dixon and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the two new faces on the replacement bench.
A total of 10 players in the matchday squad featured in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, while 16 players were members of the Rugby World Cup squad.
Erasmus welcomed back experienced hooker Malcolm Marx, who last ran out for the team in their opening World Cup encounter against Scotland before suffering a knee injury at training which ruled him out of further tournament action.
Five players in the starting team featured in the same positions in the World Cup final, namely Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert, Du Toit, Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel – who has been named as the vice-captain for this match.
Erasmus opted for a five-three split in favour of the forwards on the replacements bench, which includes four Rugby World Cup winners – Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Grant Williams, and Damian de Allende, respectively.
“This is an exciting playing squad and travelling group, and we are looking forward to seeing how the uncapped players step up at the top international level and how we execute what we’ve been working on at training in the last few days and at the alignment camps, “said Erasmus.
“The likes of Edwill, Jordan, Ben-Jason, and Sacha have really impressed us at training, and we believe they have what it takes to make their presence felt against a quality team such as Wales.
Commenting on the decision to hand Du Toit the captaincy, Erasmus said it was not only well deserved but also personal for the player since the first and only time he led the team was against Wales in Washington in 2018 – a Test the Boks lost 22-20.
“Pieter-Steph has been a key figure in our system for several years now, and he’s a player who leads by example on the field,” said Erasmus. “We have a strong core of senior players in this group, and we had a few options for captain, but we feel Pieter-Steph will be the right man to lead the team this week.
“He has captained the Springboks only once before and that was against Wales in 2018, and after that result, we believe it will make this match even more personal for him. Over and above that, he has immense respect from his teammates and the coaches, and we know he will accept this responsibility with great pride.”
Team
Springboks: Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Jordan Hendrikse, Faf de Klerk, Evan Roos, Pieter-Steph du Toit (c), Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche
Bench: Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Ben-Jason Dixon, Grant Williams, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende.