Matfield leads Springboks against Italy
Victor Matfield will captain the Boks for the 11th time against Italy in Witbank on Saturday.
Matfield takes over the captaincy from John Smit, who is resting this week after injuring his hamstring during the warm-up before the French Test at Newlands in Cape Town last Saturday.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has made 11 changes to the squad of 22 for the first Test against Italy.
In the pack, Dewald Potgieter replaces Francois Louw. Bakkies Botha is back at lock in the place of Danie Rossouw, while Jannie du Plessis and Chiliboy Ralepelle take over from BJ Botha and Smit in the front row.
At the back, Butch James and Jean de Villiers are the new centres, with Wynand Olivier and Jaque Fourie granted a break.
On the bench, Bandise Maku, CJ van der Linde, Alistair Hargreaves, Ryan Kankowski and Bjorn Basson are included. None of them featured in the 42-17 victory over France.
The Springbok team to face Italy in Witbank is:
15 – Zane Kirchner
14 – Gio Aplon
13 – Jean de Villiers
12 – Butch James
11 – Bryan Habana
10 – Morné Steyn
9 – Ricky Januarie
8 – Pierre Spies
7 – Dewald Potgieter
6 – Schalk Burger
5 – Victor Matfield (captain)
4 – Bakkies Botha
3 – Jannie du Plessis
2 – Chiliboy Ralepelle
1 – Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements:
16 – Bandise Maku
17 – CJ van der Linde
18 – Alistair Hargreaves
19 – Ryan Kankowski
20 – Ruan Pienaar
21 – Juan de Jongh
22 – Bjorn Basson
[Info from SArugby.co.za]
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