Springboks Make Two Changes For 2nd Test Clash With England

Round 2.

Frans Malherbe and Pieter-Steph du Toit return to the Boks’ starting line-up for this weekend’s Bloemfontein clash with Eddie Jones’s England.

Front-row forward Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira will make his 100th Test appearance for South Africa this weekend, becoming only the sixth Springbok to achieve the incredible feat.

The 32-year-old is the first Springbok prop to reach a century of Test caps and he joins an elite group of only seven props who have made 100 or more Test appearances.

Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus paid tribute to Mtawarira

“Much like a typical front rower, ‘Beast’ is not someone who likes the spotlight,” said Erasmus.

“However, his contribution to Springbok rugby during the past decade has been enormous and I want to congratulate him on reaching 100 Test caps for South Africa.

“It is a special achievement and while he deserves the accolades, I know he will be totally focussed on the most important job, and that is to face an extremely determined England side on Saturday in Bloem.”

Erasmus added that the Boks’ will need to improve on last week’s performance if they are to win again this weekend.

“England is a powerful side and I know Eddie Jones will have his team super prepared for Saturday,” said Erasmus.

“They will no doubt want to bounce back to level the series, so it’s going to be another huge Test of our resolve and character.”

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 1 Beast Mtawarira, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 3 Frans Malherbe, 4 RG Snyman, 5 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Duane Vermeulen.

Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Sikumbuzo Notshe, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Jesse Kriel, 23 Warrick Gelant.

Facebook
Twitter
Follow Me
Instagram