Big guns back for Springboks for rematch with Argentina
South Africa have named a much-changed team for their clash with Argentina in Round Two of the Rugby Championship in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
There’s 11 alterations to the starting line-up from last weekend – six in the backline and five in the pack – with head coach Jacques Nienaber recalling a host of players who featured in the recent series win over the British & Irish Lions.
Lood de Jager will win his 50th cap while Marvin Orie will earn his first Test start and the uncapped Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg has been named on the replacements bench.
17 change to matchday 23
In total, the matchday 23 shows 17 changes from the squad that beat the Pumas 32-12 in the opening match last Saturday. The only players who will start again this weekend are De Jager (lock), Siya Kolisi (captain and flank), Jasper Wiese (number eight), and Cobus Reinach (scrum-half).
Reinach will start in the same backline that secured the Lions series win in the final Test against the British & Irish Lions two weeks ago, which sees Handré Pollard back at fly-half, Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am return to the midfield, and Makazole Mapimpi, Cheslin Kolbe (wings) and Willie le Roux (full-back) at their posts in the back three.
Orie, who has made all five of his Test appearances off the bench, as well as Malcolm Marx (hooker) and Trevor Nyakane (prop) have been promoted to the starting team, where Thomas du Toit (prop) will also start his first Test of the season.
The only change in the loose trio is at flank, where Franco Mostert steps in for Kwagga Smith, who moves to the bench in place of the injured Marco van Staden.
The replacements bench, which features a six-two split of forwards yet again, also has a new look to it, with Janse van Rensburg joined by Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe (both props), all of whom return to the fold after getting a break last weekend.
The two backs on the bench are scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse – who scored a try on debut last weekend – and Damian Willemse (utility back).
“A few players didn’t play last week after a physically demanding Castle Lager Lions Series, and are now back in the mix, while we also wanted to give a few players who have worked hard at training over the last two months a chance to get some valuable game time,” said Nienaber.
“This is a long season, so we need to get the balance right between building consistency in selection and in our performances, managing the players in terms of their workload, and building depth within our squad.”
Nienaber congratulated De Jager – SA Rugby’s Player of the Year in 2015 who made his Test debut a season earlier – on becoming the fourth player this season to earn a half century of Tests.
“Lood is a stalwart, and his work ethic is admirable, so we are excited to see him achieve this big feat,” said Nienaber.
“It takes special character to feature and perform consistently at international level and to play 50 Tests for the Springboks, and Lood is certainly deserving of this accolade.”
Nienaber was also pleased to see Janse van Rensburg earn his place amongst the replacements after making appearances for the South Africa ‘A’ team against the British & Irish Lions and Bulls last month.
“Nicolaas has been with the squad since our conditioning camp in Bloemfontein in June and it has been great to see him get stuck in at our training sessions, so this is a fantastic opportunity for him,” said the coach.
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Trevor Nyakane
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Nicolaas van Rensburg, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Dan du Preez, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Damian Willemse
Date: Saturday, August 21
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 17:05 local (16:05 BST, 15:05 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
South Africa vs Argentina preview
Mark Smith and Adam Kyriacou from the Planet Rugby Show discuss this weekend's 2021 Rugby Championship match between South Africa and Argentina.