CAPE TOWN – Damian Willemse will make his first Test start at fullback for the Springboks,
while Duane Vermeulen will return to blindside flank for Saturday’s clash
against England
at Twickenham.
Western Province star Willemse, who is a specialist
flyhalf, started at inside centre in the Currie Cup final against the Sharks.
But Bok
coach Rassie Erasmus wants to ease him into international rugby at fullback,
and now he gets his big chance on Saturday, with Willie le Roux unavailable as
the match falls outside the official Test window.
As
expected, Vermeulen is back in the Bok side after missing the Rugby
Championship, but it will be at No 7, with Warren Whiteley slotted in at No 8
in place of the unavailable Francois Louw from the team that lost 32-30 to the
All Blacks in Pretoria.
Vermeulen’s
selection sees Pieter-Steph du Toit wearing the No 5 jersey, as Franco Mostert
is settling in at new club Gloucester.
Sbu Nkosi
is back from injury at right wing, taking over from the French-based Cheslin
Kolbe – who is also affected by the official window rules.
In another
big call by Erasmus, Ivan van Zyl will look to get the Bok backline going, with
Embrose Papier once again on the bench.
The Bok
coach made some interesting choices on the bench as well, with Thomas du Toit
the back-up loosehead prop ahead of Trevor Nyakane, while two locks in RG
Snyman and Lood de Jager are including – meaning no place for Sikhumbuzo
Notshe.
André Esterhuizen was also preferred as the outside back reserve instead of Gio Aplon.
Springbok Team
15 Damian Willemse 14 Sbu Nkosi 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi 10 Handré Pollard 9 Ivan van Zyl 8 Warren Whiteley 7 Duane Vermeulen 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Malcolm Marx 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Bench:16 Bongi Mbonambi 17 Thomas du Toit 18 Wilco Louw 19 RG Snyman 20 Lood de Jager 21 Embrose Papier 22 Elton Jantjies 23 André Esterhuizen.
Your Springboks team to play @EnglandRugby on Saturday has been named. #boksontour @CastleLagerSA @MTNza @FNBSA pic.twitter.com/1fGXy0Mxfs
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) November 1, 2018
@ashfakmohamed