Rassie makes three changes for battle against All Blacks at Loftus

Rassie Erasmus made three changes to his starting line-up for Saturday's Test against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld.

October 4, 2018

Rekord Pretoria 2 minutes read

Springbok fullback Willie le Roux will play in his 50th Test for South Africa on a packed Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Photo: Frans Lombard

Damian de Allende, Francois Louw and Steven Kitshoff are back in the Springbok starting line-up for Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where Willie le Roux will play in his 50^th Test for South Africa.

The team includes three players who have never played against the Al Blacks before. One of them is Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier and the other two are Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Damian Willemse.

De Allende has shrugged off his shoulder injury that forced him to miss last weekend’s win over the Wallabies in Port Elizabeth and takes over the No 12 jersey from Andre Esterhuizen. Louw is back in the frame having returned from English club commitments and he will start at No 8, while Sikhumbuzo Notshe will play off the bench.

Kitshoff is part of the starting front row in a straight rotational swop with the experienced Tendai Mtawarira, who will provide impact off the bench. Vincent Koch is also set to play an impact role after he was named amongst the replacement forwards, in place of Wilco Louw.

The rest of the team that defeated Australia last weekend in Port Elizabeth was kept unchanged.

“Notshe played well against the Wallabies last weekend and will offer us something different when he goes on, but Flo (Louw) has a lot of experience and is good on the ground,” Erasmus explained this change.

If Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Paper gets an opportunity to play in his fourth test match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, he will for the first time get a chance to test himself against the All Blacks. Photo: Twitter

The young Bulls flank Marco van Staden will not be given an opportunity to play against the All Blacks on his home ground after making way for Sikhumbuzo Notshe on the bench. Sikhumbuzo Notshe moves to the bench after Francois Louw has been included in the starting line-up as eighthman. Photo: BackpagePix

He said he is looking forward to seeing Koch get another run in the Springbok jersey.

“Vincent has learnt a lot from playing in Northern Hemisphere conditions and I am sure he is very keen to pull on that Green and Gold jersey again. He has a burning desire to play for the Springboks and I am delighted for him as we continue to build our squad depth,” said the coach.

Erasmus also congratulated Le Roux for reaching the special milestone of 50 Test caps.

“Willie has grown immensely since making his debut five years ago and his calm influence at the back, as well as his experience, will be vital on Saturday. He deserves this accolade,” he said.

Erasmus added that while his team has some momentum going into the big game, they will be looking to improve in all areas against a quality All Blacks team.

The Springbok team to face the All Blacks in Pretoria is: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Francois Louw, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Malcolm Marx and 1. Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Tendai Mtawarira, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. RG Snyman, 20. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Elton Jantjies, 23. Damian Willemse.