Springbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen will lead a new-look Bok team in their final Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday in what could be the competition decider depending on the result between New Zealand and Australia in Melbourne.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber made nine changes to the starting team that went down 35-20 against the All Blacks in Auckland two weeks ago, with the squad featuring a new halfback pairing of flyhalf Manie Libbok and scrumhalf Grant Williams. This will mark Williams’ first start for the team.

Nienaber also rotated his loose forwards with the trio of Vermeulen and flankers Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marco van Staden, who started the opening match of the competition against the Wallabies, returning to the run-on team.

The other changes to the pack of forwards were at hooker, where Malcolm Marx takes over from Bongi Mbonambi, and lock, where Marvin Orie comes in for Lood de Jager.

In the backline, meanwhile, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse – who scored a hat-trick against Australia – will start in place of Makazole Mapimpi, while experienced centre Jesse Kriel will make his first appearance of the season in the midfield alongside vice-captain Damian de Allende.

Nienaber opted for a five-three split on the bench in favour of the forwards, which includes prop Trevor Nyakane, who will provide an impact with Mbonambi, Vincent Koch (prop), RG Snyman (lock) and Kwagga Smith (loose forward).

The three backs on the bench are Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Lukhanyo Am (centre), and the versatile Damian Willemse.

“This is a quality team that will offer us the skills we need against Argentina. It also contains a good balance of experience and youth, which is vital as we build toward the Rugby World Cup. There are only four more matches before we kick off our Rugby World Cup campaign so it’s a fine balancing act to give all the players a chance to stake a claim for places while selecting teams that we believe are best equipped for the opposition we’ll face, and we’re pleased with the way we’ve managed that process up to now,” said Nienaber when he announced the team.

“Obviously the result in New Zealand was bitterly disappointing, but we came into the season with a plan that will hopefully allow us to select the best possible squad for the World Cup and peak at the right time.”

Nienaber said the team was resolute on bouncing back from their defeat against the All Blacks and to finish the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on a high note. He warned, however, that his charges had to fire from starting whistle, especially given the massive physical onslaught they expected from Argentina.

“The Pumas showed in their last two games that they can be a force to be reckoned with, so we have to be sharp from the get-go, be accurate in our execution on attack and defence, and use the opportunities we create,” said Nienaber. “They pride themselves on their set pieces, they are very dangerous at exploiting your mistakes, and they never stop fighting which makes them a challenging opponent.

Nienaber also said the support that the Springboks have enjoyed at Emirates Airline Park in the past has been phenomenal, and although they know their Castle Lager Rugby Championship hopes are out of their hands at the moment, it would be a memorable day if things go their way, and the match proves to be a decider.

 Springbok team to face Argentina in Johannesburg:

15 – Willie le Roux (Bulls) – 85 caps.

14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 24 caps.

13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 59 caps.

12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 71 caps.

11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls) – 8 caps.

10 – Manie Libbok (Stormers) – 5 caps.

9 – Grant Williams (Sharks) – 3 caps.

8 – Duane Vermeulen (captain, SA Rugby) – 67 caps.

7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 68 caps.

6 – Marco van Staden (Bulls) – 11 caps.

5 – Marvin Orie (Stormers) – 12 caps.

4 – Eben Etzebeth (Sharks) – 111 caps.

3 – Frans Malherbe (Stormers) – 60 caps.

2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 60 caps.

1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 73 caps.

Replacements:

16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks) – 58 caps.

17 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 59 caps.

18 – Vincent Koch (Sharks) – 43 caps.

19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 32 caps.

20 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 25 caps.

21 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 47 caps.

22 – Lukhanyo Am (Sharks) – 33 caps.

23 – Damian Willemse (Stormers) – 29 caps.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram