The Springboks will undoubtedly want to kick off their season properly on Saturday after producing an indifferent showing against Italy last weekend, which followed on from a ‘warm-up game’ against the Barbarians.
There will be no excuses as the Springboks look to deliver a far more fluent display as a largely new-look team takes to the field at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Saturday’s Test against Italy kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport and SABC.
The players who are in line to make their Test debuts are Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), Cobus Wiese (utility forward) – brother of No 8 Jasper Wiese – and Ethan Hooker (utility back), who have all been in fantastic form for their respective franchises this year.
Here is how the uncapped players could fit into the Springbok squad going forward.
Asenathi Ntlabakanye: The powerful prop’s physical dimensions set him apart from the pack, and it’s clear that he made a positive impression after featuring in the Springboks’ 54-7 victory against the Barbarians two weekends ago. It increasingly looks like he could have a big role to play throughout this season, particularly as Frans Malherbe remains sidelined with injury.
Ethan Hooker: The versatile Sharks back, who can play at wing or centre, has been loudly knocking on the Springbok door this season. His Test debut this Saturday is likely to be on the right wing, and the Springboks will be looking at him to afford Cheslin Kolbe some rest when needed this season.
Cobus Wiese: With the ability to play at lock and loose forward, the 27-year-old boasts all the physical attributes to make an impact for the Springboks in some of the Tests this season. The towering forward is undoubtedly one to watch when he comes off the bench on Saturday.
Springboks team, kick off time and key information
Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Bench: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker.
Date: Saturday, July 12
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
Springboks’ kick off time: 17:10
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against Italy:
Played 17; Won 16; Lost 1; Points for: 806, Points against: 219; Tries scored 108, Tries conceded 19; Highest score 101-0; Biggest win 101 points. Win % 94%.
Miscellaneous:
- Willie le Roux will become only the eighth player in history to play 100 Tests for South Africa, following in the footsteps of Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Tendai Mtwawarira, John Smit, Jean de Villiers, and Percy Montgomery.
- Le Roux made his debut against Italy on 8 June 2013 and will celebrate his 100th Test cap against the same opponents 12 years later.
- Makazole Mapimpi will play his 47th Test match on Saturday, and requires only three more Test caps to join the elite group of players who have played 50 Tests.
- Manie Libbok requires only two more points to score 100 Test points in the green and gold. He is currently on 98 points.
- The Springboks have faced Italy 17 times and won 16 of those matches. Their only defeat was in Florence in 2016, where Italy pipped the Boks by 20-18.
- The Wiese brothers (Cobus and Jasper) will become the 37th set of brothers to play for the Springboks.
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 493.
- There are 213 caps in the backline, with 280 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 98 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 30, the forwards 35, while the players on the bench average 12.
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