Rassie Erasmus changes tack around Springboks team naming for All Blacks clash
The Springboks will not be naming their team in their usual time slot.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has moved his team naming for the second Test match against the All Blacks to a later slot.
South Africa have made it somewhat of a tradition to name their teams on the Tuesday before a Test match but that will not be the case this week for the clash against their fiercest foe in Cape Town.
Springboks delay team announcement
SA Rugby have confirmed that the team announcement has been pushed back to Thursday, the same day as the All Blacks matchday squad will be announced.
Most head coaches will name their teams publically on the Thursday before a Saturday Test match with World Rugby regulations requiring that the matchday 23 are confirmed at least 48 hours before kick-off.
At the time of writing it has not yet been revealed as to why Erasmus has delayed the announcement of his team but it is likely due to their injury concerns.
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi is set to miss the second Test against New Zealand after sustaining a facial injury which Erasmus believed to be a fracture. Meanwhile, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse sustained a concussion that will rule him out of the Cape Town Test.
The change could also be down to Erasmus’ willingness to avoid a repeat of last week when he omitted Eben Etzebeth from his matchday 23 only for the second rower to be added to their bench the following day – leading to some unnecessary confusion and backlash, particularly from New Zealand.
Springboks v All Blacks: Rassie Erasmus’ five selection headaches for Cape Town showdown
It is also not the first time that the Springboks have broken from their traditional team naming slot as they did the same ahead of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France last year.
With Kolisi likely to be ruled out of the clash, forward Pieter-Steph du Toit, lock Etzebeth, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and second rower Salmaan Moerat are the front runners as the potential skipper while Handre Pollard is an outside bet if he is selected in the starting lineup.
Springboks v All Blacks
Date: Saturday, 7 September
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Local kick-off: 17:00
GMT kick-off: 15:00
NZL kick-off: 3:00 (Sunday, 8 September)
AUS (AEST) kick-off: 1:00 (Sunday, 8 September)
RSA kick-off: 17:00
ARG kick-off: 12:00
