Rugby Championship: Warrick Gelant starts on the wing, Faf de Klerk returns for Springboks against Wallabies
Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber has made two changes to his starting XV for their Test against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday, with Warrick Gelant and Faf de Klerk coming in on the right wing and at scrum-half respectively.
Gelant replaces Jesse Kriel, while De Klerk has recovered from concussion which ruled him out of the second Test against New Zealand and he takes over from Jaden Hendrikse.
Much-changed replacements bench
There are also three alterations to the replacements bench, which has a split of five forwards and three backs. Hendrikse replaces Herschel Jantjies, while Elton Jantjies comes in as the back-up fly-half and Frans Steyn provides additional cover for the backs. Willie le Roux and Jasper Wiese have been left out of the matchday squad this weekend.
“This is a very important clash for us to set the tone for our Castle Lager Rugby Championship tour and we feel that continuity in selection is important to build momentum in our campaign,” said Nienaber.
“Warrick was in good form for the DHL Stormers earlier this season and he has been working hard at training, so we thought it would be good to give him a run on the wing. He also combined well with Damian Willemse in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, so we are excited to see what they offer us in the match.
“Faf, meanwhile, is back from concussion and his experience will be important in this game.
“We also feel it is important to give the likes of Ox (Nche), Joseph (Dweba) and Duane (Vermeulen) another opportunity to further build combinations and give them valuable game time as we build toward the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Nienaber also explained his reasoning for changing from a six-two to a five-three split on the replacements bench.
“We looked at what Australia will bring to the game, and that combined with our need to give Elton and Frans Steyn some vital game time, prompted us to select five forwards and three backs on the bench,” he said.
“With Franco (Mostert) and Kwagga (Smith) on the bench, we will have cover at lock and loose forward, while Frans Steyn’s versatility will also be handy as he can cover centre and full-back. These changes obviously mean that Willie, Jasper and Herschel lose out, but we know what we have in them and what they bring to the team.”
Wallabies keen to return to victory trail
Nienaber expects a tough challenge from Australia, who will be eager to bounce back from a record loss Argentina in their previous Test.
“Australia are always a tough force at home and the fact that we haven’t beaten them here since 2013 is evidence of that,” he said.
“Much like us, they will also want to bounce back after going down against Argentina, so we expect them to come out firing. The fact that this will be the first Test between the teams in Adelaide will serve as extra motivation for both teams this weekend, so we are preparing for another epic encounter against them.
“We had a thorough review of our last match against New Zealand, and we have identified the areas of our game in which we need improve. We know we need to make a big step-up in the quality of our performance to start the tour on a positive note, and that is a big objective for us this weekend.”
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Warrick Gelant, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn
Date: Saturday, August 27
Venue: Adelaide Oval
Kick-off: 15:00 local (06:30 BST, 05:30 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
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