Engelbrecht fit to face All Blacks
Springbok centre JJ Engelbrecht has recovered from a contusion to his quad muscle and will line-up for South Africa against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship decider at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Engelbrecht came through full training sessions on Wednesday and Friday as has been passed fit for his 10th Test for South Africa.
As a result, Jan Serfontein will start the match on the bench.
The Springboks need to score four tries and beat the All Blacks by more than seven points to wrestle the trophy from the New Zealanders’ grasp.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht/Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Franco van der Merwe, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.
Date: Saturday, October 5
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT; 04.00, Sunday, October 6, NZ time)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Greg Garner (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
