Springboks team: Cheslin Kolbe and Damian Wilemse bring up Test milestones as Rassie Erasmus makes Handre Pollard decision
Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe (pictured) will both win their 50th Test caps after being named in Rassie Erasmus' starting XV
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has named his strongest-possible side to face England, with World Cup-winning duo Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe set to win their 50th Test caps.
The meeting at Ellis Park kicks off both sides’ respective Nations Championship campaigns, with the Boks looking to defend their place at the top of the World Rugby rankings.
Erasmus’ side also come into the Test off the back of a resounding 80-31 victory over the Barbarians in an uncapped fixture.
World Cup winners set for Test milestones v England
Erasmus has opted to go down the path most followed for the crunch Test against Steve Borthwick’s side, naming a fully-capped 23-man squad.
Milestone men Willemse and Kolbe feature in a strong back-three alongside Kurt-Lee Arendse, while Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende start in the centres. Manie Libbok gets the nod at 10 over Handre Pollard, while Grant Williams also features at scrum-half.
The familiarity continues in the back-row, with Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi all starting, with Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth named as the lock pairing. Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche are included in the front-row.
On paper, Eramsus has opted for a 5:3 split on the bench, but Andre Esterhuizen can also cover the back-row if needed. He is joined by Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zach Porthen, Marco van Staden, Cameron Hanekom, Cobus Reinach and Canan Moodie on the replacements list.
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Commenting on his selection, Erasmus said: “England are a quality outfit, and we are expecting them to give everything they have in this match, so it was important to select a squad with experience combined with a few younger players, who have proved that they have what it takes to perform at this level.
“The players have worked very hard at training, and they know what it takes to perform against a side of this calibre with a good coaching team, so we hope they can transfer that effort onto the field on Saturday.
“It was great to have a run against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe last week because it afforded some of our players some valuable game time, but this weekend will be a different prospect altogether.
“England are a settled team, they come off a Six Nations campaign earlier in the season, and, similarly to us, they will also want to have a good start to this exciting new competition, so we are expecting it to be a bruising encounter.”
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Of the milestone pair, the Boks boss added: “They have both been stalwarts for us over the years, and as a team we would like to make it a memorable day for them. It’s not every day you have two players playing their 50th Test, so that will certainly add to our motivation this week.
“That said, England will come to Johannesburg as determined as ever, so it’s going to be a hard grind of a match, which will require us to be accurate in every facet of the game, and convert the opportunities we create into points, but they will have the same mindset, so we need to hit the ground running if we want to do well.”
Elsewhere, Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager were both deemed unavailable for selection but should be ready for their meeting against Scotland, while Riley Norton has been released from the squad following an injury in training.
Ethan Hooker will also join up with the Boks squad next week following his return from injury.
Springboks team to play England in full
Springboks: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Canan Moodie
Date: Saturday, 4 July, 2026
Venue: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17:40 (local), 16:40 (UK), 17:40 (France), 17:40 (South Africa), 01:40 (5 July, AEST), 03:40 (5 July, New Zealand), 12:40 (Argentina), 00:40 (5 July, JST), 11:40 (EDT)
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Broadcasters: ITV (United Kingdom), TF1 (France), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), Wowow (Japan), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)
