Springboks team: Siya Kolisi returns as Rassie Erasmus rolls the dice with uncapped front-row against Georgia
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Rassie Erasmus has issued three Test debuts in his front-row after naming his Springboks team to face Georgia in Nelspruit on Saturday.
Double Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi returns from a nigglesome injury to lead the side in the match at Mbombela Stadium with Erasmus once again ringing the changes.
Springboks team
Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe, and Neethling Fouche will all make their debuts in the starting XV against The Lelos, who are renowned for possessing a powerhouse scrum.
Behind them, Eben Etzebeth returns to the run-on team, earning his 133rd Springboks cap and is joined in the second-row by Ruan Nortje, who starred in the victory over Italy last week.
Nortje is one of five players who have retained their places in the starting roles from the win over the Azzurri; the others are Edwill van der Merwe (wing), Canan Moodie (utility back), Grant Williams (scrum-half), and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Du Toit joins Kolisi in the back-row while Cobus Wiese replaces his brother Jasper in the number eight jersey with the latter suspended for four matches following his red card for a headbutt.
Williams partners Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who is promoted from the bench, while Damian de Allende takes over from Andre Esterhuizen in the centres to link up with Canan Moodie.
Finally, Van der Merwe is joined by Aphelele Fassi and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the back-three.
On the bench, Erasmus has reverted to a 5-3 split with World Cup winners Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit and Vincent Koch named as the front-row cover while RG Snyman and Kwagga Smith finalise the forward replacements.
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Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard and Damian Willemse complete the bench as the backline replacements.
The inclusion of Kolisi and Venter in the squad increases the size of the group used by Erasmus so far this season to 46 players, with the matchday squad featuring 15 Rugby World Cup winners in total.
Erasmus was excited to see the three uncapped players and Kolisi in action and said: “We wanted to make sure that Siya is 100% fit before selecting him, so it’s great to have him back in the squad, while Boan, Marnus, and Neethling have been training hard and deserve their chance.
“Marnus and Neethling played against the Barbarians, so they have an idea of what international rugby is about, while Boan has shown great potential at club level and with the squad in the last few weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing him play.”
Erasmus added: “Building squad depth has been one of our pillars as a squad since 2018, and they are all undoubtedly ready to make the step-up.”
Zoning into his team selection, Erasmus said: “We know how passionate and intense this Georgian side is, and they will be determined to make a strong statement, so we selected some experienced players who we would like to get more game time before the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, and a few of the younger players, who have put up their hands another run, so we are pleased with the balance we have in this group.”
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Springboks team v Georgia
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Cobus Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Neethling Fouchem 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian Willemse
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Date: Saturday, 19 July, 2025
Kick-off: 17:10 (local), 16:10 (UK)
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Hollie Davidson (SRU), Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
