Canan Moodie to make South Africa debut against Australia

South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has unveiled the matchday squad for the fourth round of the Rugby Championship clash against Australia to be played in Sydney.

With Elton Jantjies, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Pieter-Steph du Toit all unavailable due to injuries, Damian Willemse starts at fly-half while Jaden Hendrikse comes in at scrum half replacing Faf de Klerk, who is out of the matchday squad.

Willemse moving to fly-half means Willie le Roux starts at fullback while Canan Moodie will make his debut at right wing with Makazole Mapimpi at left.

Damian de Allende retains his place at midfield and is joined by Jesse Kriel. Duane Vermeulen drops down to the bench as Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert and skipper Siya Kolisi are part of the back row.

Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth retain their places at second row from the defeat they suffered in Adelaide with the final changes coming in as Steven Kitshoff and Malcolm Marx replacing Ox Nche and Joseph Dweba respectively.

“We selected a team we thought would be best for this match given that we have several players out with injuries and with an eye on how we want to play,” said Nienaber.

“Handre, Lukhanyo, Elton and Pieter-Steph are all carrying injuries which adds to a list that includes Cheslin Kolbe and Sbu Nkosi, while Kurt-Lee Arendse is also out serving a suspension, and this has forced our hand to make a few changes in some positions.

“With both flyhalves injured, Damian was the natural choice at No 10 where he has slotted in for us a lot. He is also becoming a settled player in our team with over 20 Test caps to his name.

“This will also be a great test for Canan, who was a stand-out player for the Vodacom Bulls this season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. He’s a very talented player, who will enjoy this opportunity.”

South Africa XV: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx , 1 Steven Kitshoff

Reserves: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Duane Vermeulen, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Warrick Gelant