Papier gets his chance against Scotland
The young Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier will get the chance to prove himself at international level when the Springboks take on Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The Springbok team for Saturday’s third Test of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour against Scotland in Edinburgh shows six changes, including two personnel changes and two positional switches in the starting line-up, in what promises to be another very tough encounter for the South Africans.
Duane Vermeulen moves back to No 8 in place of the injured Warren Whiteley, while Pieter-Steph du Toit will pack down at blindside flank again, moving from lock, where he started against England and France.
Upfront, RG Snyman will start in the second row for the fourth time in his short international career, due to a decision not to rush Eben Etzebeth back from the injury he sustained against England, and Du Toit’s shift from lock to loose forward.
The only other change to the starting team is at scrumhalf, where Embrose Papier will earn his first starting cap for the Springboks. With Faf de Klerk released back to his club in England, Ivan van Zyl comes into the match-23 as replacement scrumhalf, while Lood de Jager will provide lock cover on the bench.
Whiteley is struggling with a calf strain and because he also won’t be ready for next week’s last tour match in Cardiff in Wales, it was decided to withdraw him from the rest of the tour.
The Scots have built a formidable home record over the past two seasons under coach Gregor Townsend. Since the start of 2017, they have lost only one of their nine Tests at Murrayfield, which was last year against New Zealand. During this time, they’ve also beaten Ireland, England, Wales, France and Australia at home.
While the Springboks want to continue with their recent progress, Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, has no doubt his side will have to show improvement against the well-organised Scots.
“Scotland is a well-coached side, they are difficult to break down and they will present us with a very tough challenge at Murrayfield. The matches in the northern hemisphere are all closely fought encounters, with the set-piece battle key, and it’s important to grab the big moments and finish your opportunities,” said Erasmus.
Speaking on the selections for Saturday, Erasmus said it was unfortunate that Etsebeth is still not fully fit, but this gives Snyman another great opportunity to start against one of the top rugby sides.
“Moving Duane and Pieter-Steph around in the pack isn’t disrupting at all, as both of them are very experienced and have played for us in these positions earlier in the season,” Erasmus concluded.
Meanwhile, flyhalf Handré Pollard will become the second most-capped Springbok No 10 when he makes his 38th Test appearance on Saturday, surpassing 2007 World Cup winner Butch James’ 37 caps in that position. The most-capped Springbok flyhalf is Morné Steyn, with 64 Tests at pivot.
South Africa and Scotland have played each other 16 times at Murrayfield, with the Springboks winning 12 of those Tests for a win percentage of 75%.
The Springbok team to face Scotland in Edinburgh is: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Sbu Nkosi, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Embrose Papier, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi (captain), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. RG Snyman, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Malcolm Marx and 1. Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Thomas du Toit, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Francois Louw, 21. Ivan van Zyl, 22. Elton Jantjies and 23. Cheslin Kolbe.
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