Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber made nine changes to the starting line-up and 15 to the match day 23 as he looked to give more members of the extended squad a run in the second Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Australia on Saturday in Sydney.
While some may see this as a knee-jerk reaction to the 25-17 loss in the first game in Adelaide, the Bok coach had said before the tour that he would be making changes through the two games to give extended members of the squad a run.
But it will still come as a surprise to many as just six players made the cut in the starting line-up after a disappointing outing in Adelaide, with Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, captain Siya Kolisi, locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager and tighthead Frans Malherbe the only survivors from the Adelaide game.
The Boks are likely to make other changes for Argentina with a number of the extended squad members coming back for the last two Rugby Championship games so this was well-planned before the time.
Probably the most glaring choice is that of Damian Willemse at flyhalf, as he has played fullback for most of the international season, and through his versatility the Bok camp are looking to see how he slots in at 10 alongside Jaden Hendrikse.
The young halfback duo will be aided by De Allende partnering with 50-test Springbok Jesse Kriel, while young Canan Moodie gets his debut test match at the tender age of 19 and stalwart Willie le Roux at fullback.
Up front there have been some big changes, with Malcolm Marx starting at hooker alongside Steven Kitshoff as the tight five looks like a very familiar choice and should be popular with fans all round.
Jasper Wiese returns to the loose trio alongside captain Kolisi and is joined by Franco Mostert in the seven role.
This means that Joseph Dweba and Pieter-Steph du Toit both drop out of the 23 man squad, with Deon Fourie covering at hooker and Duane Vermeulen dropping to the bench for the match.
The bench also has a more solid, if traditional, look about it, with Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane giving the front row a bomb squad look, while there is no real lineout cover on the bench with Vermeulen and two-try Adelaide hero Kwagga Smith the other two forwards.
This means Mostert is likely to revert to lock in the second half when the replacements are to come on.
At the back, Cobus Reinach makes a welcome return from a long injury layoff, meaning Faf de Klerk drops out of the 23. Whether this is because of his yellow card in Adelaide, is uncertain.
Frans Steyn, although looking rusty in Adelaide will get another chance in Sydney off the bench and is joined by Warrick Gelant as the backline cover.
Nienaber did say before the tour he would be making changes to the squad.
“We have been working with a large group of players for the last few months and we believe this will pay off in the long run as we look to expand our depth for the Rugby World Cup and beyond,” said Nienaber before leaving for Australia.
“Since we are going on tour, however, we will take a group of players that is more in line with the size of a Rugby World Cup squad, and our thought process is that we will have two groups of players – one who will participate in the Australian leg of the competition and another for the Argentina matches.
“This way we can manage the players as well as possible on tour, while at the same time ensuring we continue to develop our depth and give the players opportunities to prove themselves with a little over a year to go before the Rugby World Cup kicks off.”
But just how these changes will impact the group and whether the Boks can get their own misfiring game plan off the ground remains to be seen.
Springboks: Willie le Roux; Canan Moodie, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Damian Willemse, Jaden Hendrikse; Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff.
Reserves: Deon Fourie, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Kwagga Smith, Duane Vermeulen, Cobus Reinach, Frans Steyn, Warrick Gelant.