Erasmus announces revamped Bok team to face Scotland

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus stayed true to his objective to give as many players in his squad the opportunity to put up their hands at the highest level this season, as he made 10 changes to his starting team for Saturday’s Nations Championship Test against Scotland in Pretoria. In total, 10 of the players in the match-23 from the England Test were retained as the Bok coach looked to balance consistency with spreading the workload within his squad for the challenging season, which also included Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in August and September.

The five players retained in the starting XV that defeated England 45-21 last weekend are Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Paul de Villiers, and Ruan Nortje. Willemse played his 50th Test and De Villiers made his Test debut against England, while Du Toit retained the captaincy he took over following the late withdrawal of Siya Kolisi. The other players who got another run were Canan Moodie, who moved from the bench to the starting team, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Zach Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Grant Williams, who were named on the bench.

The backline named by Erasmus had a fresh look to it, featuring Aphelele Fassi forming a back three with Edwill van der Merwe and Moodie, while Kriel joined forces with Willemse in the midfield. The halfback duo of Handre Pollard and Embrose Papier dictated play on their home ground at Loftus Versfeld. Changes to Erasmus’ forward pack saw Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar, and Wilco Louw form the front row, while Cobus Wiese partnered with Nortje at lock. De Villiers, who stepped in as a replacement for the injured Kolisi last week, had another run in the green and gold in a loose trio with Du Toit and Evan Roos.

The replacements bench featured a split of six forwards and two backs, with Wessels joining up with Ntuthuko Mchunu and Porthen in the front row, while Dixon, Vincent Tshituka, and Elrigh Louw provided additional forward cover. The two backline players on the bench were Williams and Quan Horn. Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Andre Esterhuizen, and Ethan Hooker remained unavailable for selection this week due to respective niggles.

"We have good depth in our squad, and this will be a great test for the team," said Erasmus. "We told the players from the outset that we would give as many of them a chance as possible to play this season, while trying to manage some players, while others remained unavailable for selection this week. It was important to select a team with some continuity from last week while bringing in players we believe will fit what we expect from Scotland."

Erasmus added: "Scotland is a quality team who will test us in all areas. They are well-coached, and matches against them are always tough. We need to be switched on from the first whistle, be accurate, and use our opportunities to achieve the desired result."

The match kicked off at 17h40 and was broadcast live on SuperSport.