Wiese returns as Boks make nine changes for All Blacks Test

27 August 2024 - 12:24
By Sports Staff
Jasper Wiese celebrates after the Springboks' 2023 Rugby World Cup final win against the All Blacks at Stade de France in Paris on October 28 2023.
Image: Paul Harding/Getty Images Jasper Wiese celebrates after the Springboks' 2023 Rugby World Cup final win against the All Blacks at Stade de France in Paris on October 28 2023.

Jasper Wiese makes his first appearance of the season in a team featuring a new locking combination as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus rang the changes for their Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Erasmus made nine changes to the team that defeated the Wallabies in Perth, recalling Wiese from suspension and pairing Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje in the second row as a result of injuries to six locks for the first of two Tests against the All Blacks.

The second is at Cape Town Stadium on September 7. The Boks, after back-to-back wins against Australia, are in a strong position to take the title, but the matches against New Zealand, who won one and lost one against Argentina at home, will make or break that effort.

There are only three changes to the match day squad that opened the series with a victory in Brisbane and two of those forced by injuries to locks.

Eben Etzebeth (back injury) and Salmaan Moerat (concussion) miss out from the Brisbane combination while Aphelele Fassi gets the fullback’s jersey in succession to Willie le Roux in the only other change. The other locks unavailable for selection are RG Snyman (foot), Franco Mostert (broken leg), Lood de Jager (shoulder) and Jean Kleyn (eye and knee).

“It’s not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan stood his man in our last match and we are confident he’ll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock,” Erasmus said.

“This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.

“It’s also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back and we know he’ll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field. We are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.

“We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black back line.

“We’ve seen what most of the players can do under pressure in Australia, and we’re confident they’ll want to build on that against the All Blacks.”

The pack shows six changes to the starting line-up that appeared in Perth with a new front row of Ox Nché (promoted from the bench in Perth) and the recall of rested Frans Malherbe and hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

Du Toit moves from the side of the scrum to partner Nortje while Wiese is joined in the back row by Bok captain Siya Kolisi and Ben-Jason Dixon, who has recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the Perth Test.

In the backline, Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu reunite at halfback, while Erasmus has recalled Damian de Allende to partner Jesse Kriel at centre. Kurt-Lee Arendse is also back in the team, linking up with Cheslin Kolbe and Fassi in the back three.

Erasmus’ bench, which features a split of six forwards and two backs, will see Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch in the replacement front row, while Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden and the energetic Kwagga Smith offer solid loose forward cover options.

The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Handré Pollard, who offer an array of options, covering scrumhalf, wing, centre and flyhalf between them.

The squad features 12 players who appeared in the Boks' Rugby World Cup final win against New Zealand in Paris in October last year, as Erasmus balanced building depth while maintaining consistency in selection. They are Kolisi, Nché, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Du Toit, Wiese, Arendse, De Allende, Kriel, Kolbe, Smith and Pollard.

Wiese was deemed match ready after training with the team since the beginning of June at the first training camp in Pretoria, while Erasmus opted to give prop Steven Kitshoff, wing Canan Moodie, scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse and lock Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg more time to adjust to the new structures.

The Bok coach was confident the lock injury situation would ease in the next week.

“Eben may have been ready to play this week if we really needed him, but we feel we will benefit more from selecting a player who is 100% fit, and Salmaan should also be back in selection frame next week after the return-to-play protocols.

“We’re happy things will ease significantly for us in that department going into the second Test.”

Erasmus said he expects an immensely physical approach from the All Blacks, who have an impressive winning record of three wins in their last four outings at Ellis Park, with winning margins of seven points or more on each occasion.

“We’ve no doubt they’ll come out guns blazing. They’ll want to build winning momentum after bouncing back against Argentina after their disappointing opening game, and the rivalry between the Boks and All Blacks will motivate them even more.

“There is also no doubt they’ll still be hurting from the Rugby World Cup final, and in addition they know how important a win will be to square things up and open up the Rugby Championship log.”

Springbok team to face New Zealand in Johannesburg:

  • 15 — Aphelele Fassi (Sharks) — 6 caps, 15 points (3t)
  • 14 — Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) — 35 caps, 96 points (15t, 3c, 5p)
  • 13 — Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) — 73 caps, 80 points (16t)
  • 12 — Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) — 82 caps, 55 points (11t)
  • 11 — Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls) — 19 caps, 85 points (17t)
  • 10 — Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) — 6 caps, 33 points (12c, 3p)
  • 9 — Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) — 34 caps, 65 pts (13t)
  • 8 — Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) — 27 caps, 5 pts (1t)
  • 7 — Ben-Jason Dixon (Stormers) — 3 caps, 5 points (1t)
  • 6 — Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) — 86 caps, 55 points (11t)
  • 5 — Ruan Nortje (Bulls) — 2 caps, 0 points
  • 4 — Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) — 81 caps, 45 points (9t)
  • 3 — Frans Malherbe (Stormers) — 73 caps, 5 points (1t)
  • 2 — Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks) — 72 caps, 70 points (14t)
  • 1 — Ox Nche (Sharks) — 33 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

  • 16 — Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) — 69 caps, 95 points (19t)
  • 17 — Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls) — 4 caps, 0 points
  • 18 — Vincent Koch (Sharks) — 54 caps, 0 points
  • 19 — Marco van Staden (Bulls) — 22 caps, 10 pts (2t)
  • 20 — Elrigh Louw (Bulls) — 6 caps, 0 points
  • 21 — Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) — 45 caps, 40 pts (8t)
  • 22 — Grant Williams (Sharks) — 13 caps, 10 points (2t)
  • 23 — Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) — 73 caps, 734 points (7t, 99c, 162p, 5dg)

SA Rugby