Talented young utility back Canan Moodie will make his Springbok debut against Australia in Sydney in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on Saturday as injuries and the desire to try a few new player combinations saw head coach Jacques Nienaber include eight new players in the starting team.

Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Pieter-Steph du Toit were all ruled out due to knee injuries, while Elton Jantjies injured his hand and was not available for selection this weekend, which means Damian Willemse will move from fullback to flyhalf, Jesse Kriel will slot in at centre, and Franco Mostert has been included in the loose trio.

The 19-year-old Moodie, who will only turn 20 in November this year, earns his first start on the right wing in a positional switch with Warrick Gelant, who has been named among the replacements, while the experienced Willie le Roux will take Willemse’s place at fullback, with the other change in the backline at scrumhalf, where Jaden Hendrikse takes over from Faf de Klerk.

Apart from Mostert’s inclusion among the forwards, prop Steven Kitshoff and hooker Malcolm Marx earn starts in a new-look front row with Frans Malherbe, while Jasper Wiese takes over at No 8 from Duane Vermeulen, who will provide an impact off the replacements bench.

These changes see a reshuffle of the front row on the bench, with Deon Fourie serving as the replacement hooker, and Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane providing cover at prop.

Among the backs, Cobus Reinach will serve as back-up for Hendrikse at scrumhalf, with Frans Steyn providing cover flyhalf and centre, while Gelant will offer options on the wing and fullback.

“We selected a team we thought would be best for this match given that we have several players out with injuries and with an eye on how we want to play,” said Nienaber.

Springbok team to face Australia in Sydney:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 76 caps.

14 – Canan Moodie (Bulls) – uncapped

13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 53 caps.

12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 63 caps.

11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks) – 30 caps.

10 – Damian Willemse (Stormers) – 21 caps.

9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Sharks) – 7 caps.

8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 15 caps.

7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 56 caps.

6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Sharks) – 68 caps.

5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 61 caps.

4 – Eben Etzebeth (Sharks) – 103 caps.

3 – Frans Malherbe (Stormers) – 51 caps.

2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 52 caps.

1 – Steven Kitshoff (Stormers) – 64 caps.

 Replacements:

16 – Deon Fourie (Stormers) – 1 cap.

17 – Ox Nche (Sharks) – 12 caps.

18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 57 caps.

19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 24 caps.

20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 63 caps.

21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 21 caps.

22 – Frans Steyn (Cheetahs) – 75 caps.

23 – Warrick Gelant (Racing 92) – 11 caps.

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