Eben Etzebeth to lead South Africa in clash against All Blacks
Eben Etzebeth has recovered from a shoulder injury
©PA
South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has made 10 changes to the starting line up for the second round of the Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand to be played in Auckland on Saturday.
Eben Etzebeth, who was amongst the 14 players flew to New Zealand early to acclimatise to the conditions will captain the side and will be partnering with Lood de Jager in the second row.
Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe will start at wings while Lukhanyo Am, who started in the previous game will form a centre partnership with Damian de Allende.
Fullback Willie Le Roux retains his place from the victory against the Wallabies along with Damian Willemse at fly-half, props Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe and hooker Bongi Mbonambi.
The back row comprises of Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith while the reserves comprises mostly of the players, who featured in the game against the Wallabies including Duane Vermeulen, RG Snyman, Manie Libbok and Grant Williams.
“We planned to select a squad with a few key combinations of players who are fully acclimatised and settled in New Zealand, while also selecting some players who started last week, and we are pleased with the balance we were able to strike with this squad,” said Nienaber.
“This allows us to give some players their first taste of international rugby this season alongside a group of players who come off a physical clash against the Wallabies, and we believe this will be beneficial against a top opponent in the All Blacks.
“The fact that we can give a few other players in the bigger squad a run this weekend is fantastic as we want to give as many players as possible game time with an eye on doing well in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and further ahead in the Rugby World Cup.”
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Duane Vermeulen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok
