WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber has named 10 of the 14 players who traveled ahead to New Zealand — and missed last weekend’s match against Australia — in his lineup for Saturday’s Rugby Championship test against the All Blacks in Auckland.
Nine of those players are in South Africa's starting 15.
Nienaber split his squad in two for the first two matches of the Championship, sending the 14-man delegation ahead to New Zealand to acclimatize ahead of Saturday’s test which might decide the Championship winner.
In a notable selection, lock Eben Etzebeth has recovered from a shoulder injury and will captain the Springboks at Mt. Smart Stadium.
Etzebeth’s locking partner Lood de Jager, backrowers Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert and Jasper Wiese and wingers Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe also have been named to start. Veteran hooker Malcolm Marx has been named to make an impact from the bench.
“We planned to select a squad with a few key combinations of players who are fully acclimatized and settled 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 Springboks beat the Wallabies 43-12 in Pretoria last weekend while the All Blacks beat Argentina 41-12 in Mendoza.
Etzebeth hasn’t played since April when he injured his shoulder playing for the Durban-based Sharks against Munster. He steps into the captaincy in the absence of Siya Kolisi who is still unavailable because of injury.
“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,” Nienaber said. “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.
“New Zealand have a strong pack of forwards and dangerous backs and they showed last week what they can do when they have the space to convert their chances into points.”
New Zealand will names its lineup on Thursday and is also likely to include players who sat out the first round of the Championship.
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South Africa: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Damian Willemse, Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth (captain), Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Reserves: Malcolm Marx, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok.
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