Hometown Bok debut for Potgieter
Bulls flank Jacques Potgieter will make his Test debut against England in his hometown of Port Elizabeth as one of three changes to the Springbok starting XV.
The powerful loose forward replaces the injured Willem Alberts at blindside flank, whilst the other two changes come in the backline with Gio Aplon starting at fullback and Wynand Olivier stepping in at inside centre for Frans Steyn who is getting married.
Potgieter was playing for the Kings less than a year ago, but made a big impact for the Bulls in Super Rugby this season before being cut down by injury, and he will take his place alongside his franchise captain Pierre Spies who earns his 50th Bok cap.
Aplon comes in as the third Springbok fullback of the series following injuries to Zane Kirchner and Pat Lambie, whilst Olivier gets his first opportunity to start after coming off the bench in the first two matches.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer resisted making any unforced changes to the starting team as they seek to make it a series whitewash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
He said: "Injuries have forced us to make a number of changes, which is never ideal, but this provides an opportunity for players like Gio, Wynand and Jacques to put up their hands.
"Gio is our third fullback of the series, but he's experienced and has been part of our planning. Wynand came on as a replacement in both of the first two Tests and knows our game plan, while Jacques has impressed this year as a very strong ball carrier – hopefully he can continue with the good work Willem has done in the last fortnight," added Meyer.
There are two changes on the replacements bench, with Sharks No.8 Ryan Kankoski replacing his frnachise captain Keegan Daniel as loose forward cover, whilst Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies takes the position made vacant by Olivier's promotion to the starting team.
Meyer explained: "Jacques [Potgieter] has not played for a while and we felt Ryan [Kankowski] is the right option for this game if he needs to take over from Jacques, with his explosive running. Keegan [Daniel] did very well in the first two Tests, but for this match we felt that Ryan is a better option.
"Elton comes in to provide cover at flyhalf and is a very good goal-kicking option, something we will miss with Frans [Steyn]not available.
"Bjorn Basson still covers all three positions in the back trio, JP Pietersen or Bryan Habana can play outside centre and Jean will move to inside centre if needed, so we are covered in all positions in the backline," he said.
South Africa: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jean de Villiers, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Bjorn Basson.
Date: Saturday, June 23
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 17.05 (15.05 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), John Lacey (Ireland)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
