Springboks name team for second Test versus the All Blacks

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Second Test.

South Africa have made a number of changes for Saturday’s second Test against New Zealand in Cape Town, with Pieter-Steph du Toit set to celebrate his 100th Springbok appearance.

Rassie Erasmus has largely kept faith with the side beaten by the All Blacks in Johannesburg, but has changed his half-back combination and been forced into a reshuffle out wide.

Handre Pollard comes in at fly-half alongside Cobus Reinach at scrum-half, while Ethan Hooker replaces Cheslin Kolbe, who has been ruled out after picking up a niggle in the opening Test.

Kurt-Lee Arendse consequently switches across to the right wing, with Hooker wearing No.11 and Damian Willemse continuing at full-back.

There is also some uncertainty surrounding Siya Kolisi, who has been bracketed with Paul de Villiers at openside flanker. Should Kolisi come through training without issue, he will start alongside Du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the back row.

Du Toit will captain the Springboks regardless and is set to become just the 11th South African to reach 100 Test appearances. Ox Nche is also in line for a milestone of his own, with the loosehead prop set to win his 50th cap.

If Kolisi is cleared to start, South Africa will field the most experienced starting XV in Springbok history, boasting a combined 1,012 Test caps.

Erasmus has also opted for a six-two split on the bench, where 39-year-old Deon Fourie makes a remarkable return to the matchday squad. Fourie has not played for the Springboks since their 12-11 victory over New Zealand in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.

Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit provide the remaining front-row cover, with Lood de Jager, Cameron Hanekom and hybrid forward Andre Esterhuizen completing the six replacement forwards.

Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the two backs on the bench.

“Cheslin and Grant (Williams) suffered niggles last weekend, which ruled them out of contention for selection, while we have bracketed Siya alongside Paul to allow us time to monitor how Siya comes through training this week,” Erasmus said.

“The changes we made are in line with what we want to achieve on the field this week, and it is valuable that almost all of the players have been involved in the last two games, so they will be able to cope with the intensity and physicality of this match.”

Explaining the decision to pair Pollard and Reinach from the start, Erasmus added:

“Handre has delivered for us under extreme pressure, and we feel that what he and Cobus have the potential to bring at the beginning of the game, and then have Morne and Sacha come on later with their different styles of play, will be good for us this weekend.”

The Springboks head to Cape Town looking to respond to their 33-16 defeat in the opening Test, and Erasmus admitted the result had hurt his players.

“One could see the hurt on everyone’s faces after Saturday’s match, and we know what we have to do to bounce back strongly this week. While we are fully aware of the challenging task ahead, we have regrouped and identified the areas of our game we need to fix, so we are ready and excited for the match in Cape Town.”

Springbok team to face New Zealand

15. Damian Willemse
14. Kurt-Lee Arendse
13. Jesse Kriel
12. Damian de Allende
11. Ethan Hooker
10. Handre Pollard
9. Cobus Reinach
8. Jasper Wiese
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain)
6. Siya Kolisi / Paul de Villiers
5. Ruan Nortje
4. Eben Etzebeth
3. Wilco Louw
2. Malcolm Marx
1. Ox Nche

Replacements:
16. Deon Fourie
17. Gerhard Steenekamp
18. Thomas du Toit
19. Lood de Jager
20. Andre Esterhuizen
21. Cameron Hanekom
22. Morne van den Berg
23. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

The second Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series kicks off at 17:10 local time at DHL Stadium on Saturday.

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