Springboks team v All Blacks: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus ‘wields the axe’ with Eden Park replacement duo’s ‘efforts rewarded’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus (inset) and playmaker Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu launches an attack during a Test.
Following the announcement of the Springboks team to face the All Blacks at Sky Stadium, here are our winners and losers from Rassie Erasmus’ selections.
After falling to a 24-17 defeat in the corresponding fixture in Auckland last weekend, Erasmus has wielded the axe for this Saturday’s clash at Sky Stadium in Wellington and brought in fresh blood to his squad.
Amongst those changes is the return of Jasper Wiese at number eight, after serving a four-match suspension, which means Siya Kolisi shifts to his regular position on the flank and he also takes over the captaincy from Jesse Kriel who has been dropped from the matchday squad.
So without further ado, we unpack the Springboks team for the Rugby Championship clash and pick out our winners and losers.
Winners
Aphelele Fassi
The Sharks stalwart is back in the number 15 jersey after starting there in both encounters against the Wallabies in Johannesburg and Cape Town during the early stages of the Rugby Championship.
Fassi’s selection comes at the expense of Willie le Roux, who had nightmare at Eden Park, and the younger full-back’s promotion gives him an opportunity to cement his place as the world champions’ first choice full-back.
He had some moments to forget in that victory over the Wallabies in Cape Town but, when on song, Fassi is an outstanding attacker who should give the side valuable momentum from the back while he is also safe under the high ball.
Canan Moodie and Damian Willemse
The decision to bring in a rookie centre combination is a huge gamble from Erasmus but both Moodie and Willemse are talented players who have seldom let their country down when selected.
Moodie was solid on the left wing at Eden Park but played one of his best Tests in the number 13 jersey for his country when the Boks cruised to a 45-0 victory over Italy in Gqeberha earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Willemse’s elevation to the inside centre role is a surprising call from Erasmus as the brilliant utility back has not featured at inside centre in any of his previous 42 Tests.
Most of his appearances at international level have been at full-back while he has also played at fly-half. However, Willemse is no stranger to the number 12 jumper as he features there regularly at club level for the Stormers.
Ethan Hooker
The Sharks utility back is a rookie who has made only two Test appearances to date but he put in a busy shift when he emerged off the replacements bench at Eden Park.
The 22-year-old comes into the run-on side on the left wing due to Moodie’s move to outside centre and Hooker will be determined to make the most of the opportunity.
With Kurt-Lee Arendse, who is one of the first choice wingers alongside Cheslin Kolbe, currently injured, Hooker’s call up to the run-on side for this Test presents him with a good opportunity to impress Erasmus.
In doing so, he could become a permanent fixture in the matchday 23 when Arendse returns to action as he is also adept at centre which will offer utility value off the bench.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach
Both these players have been rewarded after delivering excellent performances off the bench at Eden Park and helped with the Boks’ revival in the second half of that encounter.
Much has been said and written about Feinberg-Mngomezulu since he burst onto the international scene in 2024 although his progress has been hampered by injuries.
He came onto the pitch early in the second half in the previous clash with the All Blacks and caught the eye with some deft touches on attack while he also impressed with accurate goal-kicking.
It was a similar story from Reinach with ball in hand at Eden Park and he scored a crucial try when the Boks were chasing the game. There was a definite upswing for the Boks when Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Reinach entered the fray and their efforts have been rewarded.
Stormers fans will also be very interested to see how the Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Reinach combination fares in this Test as they will be the men from the Cape’s first choice half-backs for the upcoming United Rugby Championship season.
Jasper Wiese
The world champions’ first choice number eight has been kicking his heels on the sidelines after serving a four-match suspension – which resulted in him missing clashes against Georgia, Australia twice and New Zealand.
Wiese knows that he let his team-mates down due to his ill discipline and will be highly motivated to make up for his time spent out so don’t be surprised if he delivers a big shift either side of the ball.
His return to action also brings more balance to the Springboks’ back-row as he combines with flankers Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kolisi in what is the world champions’ first choice loose trio.
Siya Kolisi
The experienced back-rower is back in his regular position on the side of the scrum after filling at number eight in some Tests while Wiese was on the sidelines.
Kolisi knows he will have to hit the ground running now that he is back on the flank as he did not impress at the base of the scrum, and in the Eden Park clash he was replaced early in the second half by Kwagga Smith, who was in the thick of the action from the outset.
The All Blacks targeted the Boks at the breakdowns and that is a facet of play which Kolisi will be determined to make an impact in.
Meanwhile, the 34-year-old will also be resuming the captaincy, after Kriel skippered the Boks at Eden Park.
Kolisi has showed in the past that the added responsibility of leadership does not affect his style of play and with him back as the team’s captain he will be determined to lead from the front as the Boks look to bounce back in style.
Lood de Jager
The behemoth second-rower showed that he still has plenty left in the tank when he came onto the field early in the second half of the previous Test and his presence saw an immediate improvement in the Boks’ lineout work.
De Jager brought a calmness to his team-mates at set-piece which was all at sea in the Eden Park clash and he will be expected to do that from the outset this weekend as the Boks use their lineout as a valuable attacking launchpad.
Apart from his prowess in the lineouts, De Jager also has a high work-rate on defence while he also is a willing ball carrier – all facets of play which will be crucial in the grander scheme of things in Wellington.
Starting front-row
The fact that Erasmus has opted to retain his starting front-row of Ox Nche (loosehead prop), Malcolm Marx (hooker) and Thomas du Toit (tighthead prop) is somewhat surprising as they were not firing on all cylinders last week.
Nche was his usual, dependable self in the scrums and also caught the eye with some strong carries on attack so it was expected that he would be retained but the same cannot be said of Du Toit and Marx.
While Du Toit did what was expected of him in the execution of his core duties, there was an immediate improvement in the Boks’ scrums when Wilco Louw replaced him at Eden Park.
Meanwhile, although Marx crossed for a well-taken try, his inability to find his jumpers was a real blot on his copybook, although he did improve in that department when De Jager entered the fray and hopefully they will continue with that good work in Wellington.
Losers
Willie le Roux
The veteran Springboks full-back’s all-round performance at Eden Park was one he would want to forget in a hurry as he failed to reach the standards expected of an international player.
His poor defensive effort which led to Emoni Narawa’s opening try meant the world champions were on the back foot from the outset and playing catch up for the rest of that encounter.
Although he did his basics during the rest of the match, that incident overshadowed his overall performance and it was not surprising when Feinberg-Mngomezulu replaced him early in the second half.
And with Fassi taking his spot for this Saturday’s encounter, one wonders if Le Roux will ever wear the Boks’ number 15 jersey again.
Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende
The decision to start with Moodie and Willemse as the preferred midfield partnership this weekend means that there’s no space for Kriel and De Allende in the starting line-up, or the bench for that matter.
Kriel and De Allende hold the record for the most matches as a centre combination for the Boks and have given good service to their country over the years but their demotion from the matchday squad was surprising.
The former saw little ball on attack but was solid on defence last weekend while the latter made some strong carries although there were some unforced errors with ball in hand.
Handre Pollard
The experienced playmaker’s demotion from the run-on side was no big shock but what was surprising is the fact that he was dropped from the matchday 23 altogether, with Manie Libbok preferred as the back-up fly-half on the bench.
While Pollard does not possess the enterprising playmaking skills of Libbok or Feinberg-Mngomezulu, his accurate goal-kicking is usually the Boks’ back-up plan on the bench when he is not in the starting line-up for a Test of this magnitude which his team can ill afford to lose.
His absence from the matchday squad for this weekend’s showdown indicates that the Boks will be coming with a huge attacking effort in a bid to secure a much- needed victory and only time will tell if that approach is the right one.
Marco van Staden
The Bulls hard man can consider himself unlucky to drop out of the matchday squad as he did little wrong at Eden Park and toiled manfully during his stint on the field which stretched into the game’s closing stages when he was replaced.
Van Staden gave his all at the breakdown battle at Eden Park but despite his efforts, but he was up against a well orchestrated onslaught from the All Blacks which was led by his direct opponent Ardie Savea, who was one of the best players on the field.
Although he gave his all, Van Staden was always going to be up against Kolisi for the Boks’ number six jersey once Wiese returned to the starting XV at number eight and he eventually lost out to his skipper for a starting role.
And with Smith one of the best impact players in the world, there was no place for Van Staden on the bench as well.
Eben Etzebeth
The absence of Etzebeth is another surprising selection call as he was a player who emptied the tank for the full game at Eden Park and he could hold his head high as he was solid throughout.
Apart from being a willing ball carrier throughout, the Boks’ most capped Test player also put in a huge shift on defence and was one of his team’s top tacklers in Auckland.
It could be that the behemoth second-row has been rested as he has racked up plenty of minutes for the world champions so far this year.
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