Experienced No 8 Duane Vermeulen will lead the Springboks for the third time in their opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Vermeulen leads a team featuring a core of Rugby World Cup winners and talented newcomers – who have excelled at vital moments in the past few seasons – and includes a debutant in former Ireland international lock Jean Kleyn, who will earn his first Springbok Test cap.

Flyhalf Manie Libbok and loose forward Marco van Staden also make their first starts having previously made three and 10 appearances respectively as replacements.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber also named 14 players to depart early for New Zealand on Tuesday to acclimatise and maximise the chances of performing well in the first two Tests, separated by seven days, and 12 000km and 10 time zones.

Vermeulen, who captained the Springboks against Argentina and the All Blacks in 2019, takes over the armband from the injured Siya Kolisi, and forms a powerful loose trio against the Wallabies with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Van Staden, while Nienaber selected a front row featuring props Frans Malherbe and Ox Nche, and hooker Bongi Mbonambi. Kleyn partners Marvin Orie at lock.

In the backline, exciting Bulls wingers Canan Moodie and Kurt-Lee Arendse will play in front of their home fans with experienced fullback Willie le Roux serving as the last line of defence at fullback while Lukhanyo Am returns for the first time since August to renew a former Cell C Sharks provincial partnership with Andre Esterhuizen.

Libbok is partnered at halfback by scrumhalf Cobus Reinach – who makes his first start since the final match of the 2021 season.

Nienaber opted for a six-two split in favour of the forwards on the bench with the only two backline players; Grant Williams, who will provide cover at scrumhalf and wing, and Damian Willemse who will cover flyhalf, centre and fullback.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies, prop Trevor Nyakane and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies will remain with the team to assist in their preparations for Saturday’s season-opener and to provide cover if necessary, meaning the coaches will have a group of 26 players to work with this week.

“Our plan from the outset was to select a squad that we believe has what it takes to beat Australia while at the same time selecting a group of players that could travel to New Zealand to give us the best possible chance to do well in both matches,” said Nienaber.

Nienaber was pleased to have a leader of Vermeulen’s calibre to steer the team into battle and said: “We had a few options as potential captains and we have two good leaders in Duane and Lukhanyo, who has been named vice-captain for this match. They are both quality leaders and they’ll have a lot of experience around them on the field, which is fantastic for us as coaches.”

* The group departing early to New Zealand with a handful of management includes Kolisi, who will continue to work with the medical and conditioning staff on his rehabilitation from a knee surgery. They will be joined early by Nienaber, assistant coach Felix Jones and Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, who will travel to New Zealand immediately after the Australia Test to ensure that the team has a full week of training.

Another 17 or 18 players and team management members will travel to New Zealand on Sunday afternoon. That group of players will be decided following the Test against Australia – based on the team’s needs for the forthcoming Test against New Zealand and player performances against Australia.

The players that will travel to New Zealand on Tuesday are Steven Kitshoff (prop), Malcolm Marx (hooker), Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager (both locks), Franco Mostert and Jean-Luc du Preez (both utility forwards), Kwagga Smith (loose forward), Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi (both wings), Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel (both centres), and Kolisi.

Jasper Wiese (loose forward) will join those players in New Zealand later in the week following the birth of his child on Monday.

Springbok team to face Australia in Pretoria:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 83 caps, 65 pts (13t)

14 – Canan Moodie (Bulls) – 4 caps, 5 pts (1t)

13 – Lukhanyo Am (Sharks) – 31 caps, 30 pts (6t)

12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins) – 11 caps, 0 pts

11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls) – 7 caps, 35 pts (7t)

10 – Manie Libbok (Stormers) – 3 caps, 10 pts (5c)

9 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 24 caps, 45 pts (9t)

8 – Duane Vermeulen (captain, Ulster) – 65 caps, 15 pts (3t)

7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 66 caps, 25 pts (5t)

6 – Marco van Staden (Bulls) – 10 caps, 0 pts

5 – Marvin Orie (Stormers) – 11 caps, 0 pts

4 – Jean Kleyn (Munster) – uncapped for SA (Ireland 5 caps)

3 – Frans Malherbe (Stormers) – 58 caps, 5 pts (1t)

2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks) – 56 caps, 60 pts (12t)

1 – Ox Nche (Sharks) – 19 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 – Joseph Dweba (Stormers) – 4 caps, 0 pts

17 – Thomas du Toit (Sharks) – 15 caps, 0 pts

18 – Vincent Koch (Stade Francais) – 41 caps, 0 pts

19 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 23 caps, 5 pts (1t)

20 – Evan Roos (Stormers) – 3 caps, 0 pts

21 – Deon Fourie (Stormers) – 5 caps, 0 pts

22 – Grant Williams (Sharks) – 1 cap, 0 pts

23 – Damian Willemse (Stormers) – 27 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)

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