Springboks make four changes for Argentina clash

Aug 14 • General News, International, Rugby Championship News, South Africa, Springboks, The Rugby Championship • 3552 Views • Comments Off on Springboks make four changes for Argentina clash

The Springbok side for Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Soccer City in Soweto shows four changes from the team which beat Samoa in June.

Two of the changes are in the starting XV, both of them in the forwards, and two on the bench for this Test, which forms part of the Nelson Mandela Sport & Culture Day activities.

Upfront, Duane Vermeulen is back in action after an injury lay-off and takes over from the injured Pierre Spies at No 8. At lock, Juandré Kruger and Flip van der Merwe swap places, with the latter moving to the bench and the former starting next to Eben Etzebeth in the middle row.

On the bench, there is a return for the experienced duo of Fourie du Preez and Gurthrö Steenkamp.

“Continuity has been key for us this year and that is why we’ve opted not to make too many changes to the team for Saturday’s Test against Argentina,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

“It’s great to have Duane back at No 8, while Juandré has been doing great work in the line-outs all season long. To have someone of the calibre of Flip on the bench, next to the experience Fourie and Gurthrö bring to the team, is a great situation to be in.”

Looking ahead to the Test, Meyer said: “It’s a marvellous occasion and special to be part of a unique day where we can all celebrate the contributions former president Mandela made to South Africa.

“I think it was clear last year that the Argentineans are not in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship to make up the numbers, which means we will have to be focused on doing the little things right. They’ve been together for a few weeks now and will be a tough opponent on Saturday.

“We’ve now done the hard work on the training pitch and I can see the players are keen to get back onto the field for a Test. Now we need to put into practice what we’ve been working on and continue where we left off against Samoa, looking for try-scoring opportunities in the process.”

The Springbok team to face Argentina in Soweto is:

Position	Name	Province	Test Caps
15	Willie le Roux	GWK Griquas	3
14	Bjorn Basson	Vodacom Blue Bulls	9
13	JJ Engelbrecht	Vodacom Blue Bulls	4
12	Jean de Villiers (captain)	DHL Western Province	87
11	Bryan Habana	Toulon, France	86
10	Morné Steyn	Stade Francais, France	45
9	Ruan Pienaar	Ulster, N.Ireland	66
8	Duane Vermeulen	DHL Western Province	7
7	Willem Alberts	The Sharks	21
6	Francois Louw	Bath, England	19
5	Juandré Kruger	Racing Metro, France	11
4	Eben Etzebeth	DHL Western Province	14
3	Jannie du Plessis	The Sharks	45
2	Adriaan Strauss	Toyota FS Cheetahs	24
1	Tendai Mtawarira	The Sharks	44

Replacements

16	Bismarck du Plessis	The Sharks	48
17	Gurthrö Steenkamp	Toulouse, France	40
18	Coenie Oosthuizen	Toyota FS Cheetahs	4
19	Flip van der Merwe	Vodacom Blue Bulls	26
20	Siya Kolisi	DHL Western Province	2
21	Fourie du Preez	Suntory Sungoliath, Japan	62
22	Pat Lambie	The Sharks	23
23	Jan Serfontein	Vodacom Blue Bulls	3