Rassie names new Bok skipper to face Australia

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a new-look team for their one-off Test against Australia in Perth on Saturday.

The Test marks two significant occasions for No. 8 Jasper Wiese, who earns his 50th Test cap off the replacements bench, while Andre Esterhuizen becomes the 68th player to captain South Africa.

Erasmus made 13 changes to his starting team, with only lock Eben Etzebeth and wing Ethan Hooker retaining their places in the run-on team from the side’s 43-28 victory against the All Blacks just over a week ago in Baltimore, which saw them clinch the inaugural Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry title.

The changes include a new front row of props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Zachary Porthen, and hooker Johan Grobbelaar.

Etzebeth will join forces with Franco Mostert in the engine room, and Paul de Villiers, Elrigh Louw (both flankers), and Marco van Staden (No.8) will complete the forward pack.

The Bok coach also opted for a new halfback pairing of Herschel Jantjies and Handre Pollard, who has recovered from the niggle which saw him sidelined during RGR, while Esterhuizen will partner up with Canan Moodie in the midfield, with Hooker, Edwill van der Merwe, and Aphelele Fassi forming the back three.

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In total, nine of the players in Erasmus’ match-23 participated in the final Test against the All Blacks in the USA.

The trio of Malcolm Marx (hooker), Ox Nche, and Wilco Louw (both props) will serve as the back-up front row, while Lood de Jager will again provide lock cover, and Wiese loose forward cover.

The three backs on the replacements bench are Morne van den Berg (scrumhalf), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Quan Horn (both utility backs).

*Also read: Three reasons why Wallabies Test is important for Boks

“Each player in this squad has been working hard at training over the last few months and have had a chance to play in either the first leg of the Nations Championship or RGR, or both, while guys like Handre and Canan have recovered from injury, and they are all quality players, so we are pleased to give them a run and we are excited to see this team in action,” Erasmus said.

“Australia poses a completely different threat to New Zealand in the way they play, so we believe these combinations would be best suited for the challenge that we will face against them.”

Erasmus was also pleased to see Esterhuizen lead the Springboks for the first time.

“He captained the Hollywoodbets Sharks, and he has brought so much to our squad off and on the field, both at centre and in the loose trio, and he thoroughly deserves this opportunity.

“It will also help build our leadership core even more within the team, with several players having captained the side over the last few seasons, and we trust that he is the right man to take over the captaincy in this match.”

On the decision to release Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende from camp, Erasmus said: “They had a heavy workload in the last few months, and they deserve a break, but at the same time we decided from the outset that if everything went according to plan, we would rest them for this match, so it made sense to send them home to spend time with their families.”

Looking forward to the Test against Australia, Erasmus said: “We’ve been working closely with our Head of Athletic Performance Andy Edwards on how best to manage the players to get the most out of them in this important encounter, so we had a few days off for the players’ bodies to recover from the last few Tests and also from the travel, so we had two days of training in Terrigal and resumed our usual Test week programme on Tuesday.

“This is going to be a big challenge against a team that has been playing good rugby, and who have won four of their last five matches, with their other result being a draw against the Pumas in Argentina.

“They also suffered a narrow defeat against Ireland in the Nations Championship and registered a comprehensive victory over Italy, and they will be playing in front of their home crowd, so we know a big game lies ahead.

“They are a proud nation and will certainly want to continue building momentum going into their next two clashes against the All Blacks and the second leg of the Nations Championship in November, so they are going to throw everything at us.

“Adding to that, they have physical forwards and a very exciting backline, so it will take another big performance from us to get the result.”

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn

Date: Sunday, September 27
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 17.45 (11.45 SAST;09.45 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)