Kolisi celebrates Boks 100 as Erasmus makes switches for France showdown

Siya Kolisi will become the ninth Springbok centurion when he leads South Africa out against France at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

Coach Rassie Erasmus, who will take charge of his 50th Test as head coach, made six personnel changes to the side that defeated Japan last week.

This feat for Kolisi and Erasmus adds to a string of remarkable achievements, which include winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups and Rugby Championship titles and a British & Irish Lions series.

Erasmus has selected Boan Venter to replace the injured Ox Nché at loosehead prop, while tighthead prop Thomas du Toit, lock Eben Etzebeth, flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit and utility back Damian Willemse all return to the starting XV.

The only change among the replacements sees RG Snyman (lock) move from the starting team to the bench in place of Kwagga Smith (loose forward), who is carrying a niggle.

This will see Venter, Malcolm Marx (hooker) and Thomas du Toit pack down in the front row, while Etzebeth will join forces with Lood de Jager in the engine room. The loose trio of Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese is the same that started in the Boks’ 30-26 defeat against France in Marseille in 2022.

Erasmus made only two changes to the backline. Willemse starts at fullback in place of Cheslin Kolbe, who moves to his regular position at wing with Kurt-Lee Arendse. The experienced centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will man the midfield with the halfbacks Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

The Bulls trio of Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw will again serve as the backup front row, with locks Snyman, Ruan Nortje and utility player André Esterhuizen. The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Manie Libbok.

Eleven players in the team participated in the Boks’ narrow World Cup quarterfinal victory over Les Bleus at the same venue two years ago — Etzebeth, Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Snyman, Reinach, Arendse, Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Willemse and Libbok. Twelve players featured in the match in Marseille in 2022, which includes Marx, who was ruled out early in the World Cup campaign due to a knee injury.

“We always planned to make a few changes for this match, and we’ll continue to rotate the players throughout the tour so we can give as many players as possible a chance while at the same time trying to achieve our objectives on the field,” Erasmus said.

“This, however, is the team we feel is best suited to what we expect from France and the way we would like to play this weekend. Many of them have also faced France in 2022 and 2023, so they know what to expect from the hosts and have also had a taste of what it is to play in front of their passionate home crowd.”

On Kolisi playing in his 100th Test, Erasmus said: “This is a huge milestone for Siya, and we are all delighted for him. He is a level-headed player, and though this will be a big occasion for him and a match we would like to make special for him, he is fully focused on the task at hand, so he won’t allow that to overshadow what he must do on the field.

“This is a huge game, and the entire team knows how determined France will be to make up for the World Cup result, so we’ll celebrate Siya’s achievement after the match. That said, hopefully we can make it a memorable game for him.”

With the narrative in the French media and from the France camp being about revenge for what happened in 2023, where home perceptions were of officiating decisions going against the World Cup hosts, Erasmus said the Boks are preparing as they do for every other Test, though they have to be on point on Saturday to get the desired result.

“France has a quality team all around, with good forwards and backs, and they are a side that plays for the full 80 minutes.

“They will also have a fanatical home crowd behind them, which will inspire them immensely, so we are fully aware of the magnitude of this match, and we know what we have to do on the field.”

Springbok team to face France in Paris:

• 15 Damian Willemse (Stormers) – 45 caps, 66 pts (6t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)
• 14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 47 caps, 126 pts (21t, 3c, 5p)
• 13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 85 caps, 100 pts (20t)
• 12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 94 caps, 55 pts (11t)
• 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls) – 28 caps, 115 pts (23t)
• 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) – 16 caps, 120 pts (5t, 31c, 11p)
• 9 Cobus Reinach (Stormers) – 47 caps, 85 pts (17t)
• 8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 40 caps, 10 pts (2t)
• 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 93 caps, 70 pts (14t)
• 6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Sharks) – 99 caps, 70 pts (14t)
• 5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 72 caps, 25 pts (5t)
• 4 Eben Etzebeth (Sharks) – 138 caps, 35 pts (7t)
• 3 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 30 caps, 5 pts (1t)
• 2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 85 caps, 135 pts (27t)
• 1 Boan Venter (Edinburgh) – 5 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

• 16 Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls) – 4 caps, 0 pts
• 17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls) – 12 caps, 5 pts (1t)
• 18 Wilco Louw (Bulls) – 25 caps, 5 pts (1t)
• 19 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 47 caps, 15 points (3t)
• 20 Ruan Nortje (Bulls) – 14 caps, 0 pts
• 21 Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks) – 25 caps, 15 pts (3t)
• 22 Grant Williams (Sharks) – 25 caps, 25 pts (5t)
• 23 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 25 caps, 141 pts (2t, 46c, 13p)

SA Rugby media