Rassie makes two changes to Bok matchday squad for France showdown

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has revealed his team to face France in Round Five of the Nations Championship.

The Bok boss has made only two changes to his match-23, and they come in the form of Wilco Louw moving into the starting team, and Cobus Reinach being drafted onto the bench.

Louw will form a powerful front row combination with Ox Nche and Malcolm Marx.

Meanwhile, Thomas du Toit will link up with Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Gerhard Steenekamp among the replacements, with the other change among the impact players being the inclusion of Reinach, who played club rugby for Montpellier, replacing Grant Williams.

Lood de Jager and Ruan Nortje will again partner up in the second row after Erasmus was forced to make a late change to his matchday squad in Turin last week following the withdrawal of Salmaan Moerat.

Captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Jasper Wiese will complete the forward pack.

Erasmus named an identical backline with Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at halfback, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende in the midfield, and Ethan Hooker, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Damian Willemse serving as the back three.

The Bok coach also retained the split of six forwards and two backs on the bench, where utility forward Franco Mostert and loose forwards Cameron Hanekom and Paul de Villiers will provide an impact alongside the front row of Wessels, Steenekamp, and Thomas du Toit, while Reinach – who covers scrumhalf and wing – and Manie Libbok have been named as the two backline players.

A total of 16 players in the match-23 featured in the Boks’ 32-17 victory over France in Paris last year, including the entire starting forward pack with the exception of Nche, as well as five of the backs in the run-on team – Feinberg-Mngomezulu, De Allende, Kriel, and Willemse.

Ten players in the group were members of the team that defeated France 29-28 in the quarterfinal of the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

“We said from the outset that we would not rotate too much on this tour, so it was always our intention to select a settled squad for this game to build momentum in the competition,” said Erasmus.

“Most of these players have faced France at home and know what to expect from them, and they have also experienced their passionate and vocal crowd first-hand.”

Of the two changes to his matchday team, Erasmus said: “Our front rows are well settled and have all been playing together for a few seasons, so we made a rotational switch with Wilco and Thomas, while Cobus is also very familiar with the French conditions as he played club rugby here, so we thought bringing him into the mix would be good against a quality French outfit.”

Commenting on the decision not to name Eben Etzebeth, who arrived in France early on Monday morning in the squad, Erasmus said: “Eben just arrived in France, and although we know what he brings to the team, we feel it would be better for him to get back into the swing of things this week after some time on the sidelines.

“Lood and Franco are also very experienced players, and they have been training with us for almost two weeks now after arriving in Italy the week prior to last week’s Test match. They’ve both faced France in high-pressure matches and delivered, so we know what we have in them and what they will bring to the team this week.”

The Bok coach expected a colossal encounter against France, who pushed the Boks to the limit in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, and also in their Outgoing Tour match last year, in which the Boks held a one-point lead at the break, and he anticipated another grind of a match.

“Matches between us and France are always intense, and this week will be no different,” said Erasmus.

“Both teams have everything to play for, with France leading the northern hemisphere standings and the team being ranked fourth in the world, and we are in a similar situation trying to hold onto the top spots in the respective Nations Championship hemisphere tables, so this match is vital for both sides to try to advance to the final of the competition in a few weeks.

“They also always have a passionate crowd behind them that will definitely fuel their team, but we also enjoy the atmosphere at Stade de France, so neither team will give an inch.

“Our focus though is on what we want to do as a team, so it will be vital to execute our game plan accurately and make the most of the point-scoring chances we create.

“They have a good pack of forwards and dangerous backs, so we need to be at our best to get the desired result.”

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.

Date: Friday, November 13
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Kick-off: 21.10 CET (22.10 SAST; 20.10 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)