Springboks suffer late blow ahead of Los Pumas showdown
TEAM UPDATE: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has been forced to tweak his matchday squad for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Round Five clash against Argentina in Durban.
Prop Boan Venter will start the clash, with Marco van Staden being drafted onto the bench, following the withdrawal of Ox Nche from the team on Friday due to a niggle.
Nche’s withdrawal necessitated the move of Venter, who was initially named among the replacements, to the starting front row alongside Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit, while Jan-Hendrik Wessels will serve as the back-up prop, with Van Staden providing hooker cover off the bench.
Similarly to Wessels, who can switch equally efficiently between prop and hooker, Van Staden can shift comfortably between flank and hooker, which he proved at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
South Africa – revised: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.
Date: Saturday, September 27
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17.10 (12.10 Argentina time; 15.10 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
