Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe, and Neethling Fouche will all make their Springbok debuts against Georgia on Saturday as double Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi returns from injury to take over the captaincy for first time this season.
Venter, who was called up to the squad in June as injury cover at prop, will start in a completely new front row with fellow prop Fouche and hooker Van der Merwe, who both had their first taste of Springbok rugby in the team’s 54-7 victory against the Barbarians.
Meanwhile, Kolisi features in a loose trio with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cobus Wiese after missing the last three matches due to niggles.
The three uncapped front rankers will increase the number of newly capped players this season to seven after Vincent Tshituka (flanker), Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), and Ethan Hooker (utility back) all made their Test debuts against Italy.
Erasmus’ team features only five players who started last week, and eight in total from the match-23 that defeated Italy 45-0 in Gqeberha.
The inclusion of Kolisi and Venter in the squad, meanwhile, increases the size of the group used by Erasmus so far this season to 46 players, with the matchday squad featuring 15 Rugby World Cup winners.
The five players who retained their places in the starting lineup are Edwill van der Merwe (wing), Canan Moodie (utility back), Grant Williams (scrumhalf), Du Toit, and Ruan Nortje (lock), while Conus Wiese and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (flyhalf) are promoted from the bench to starting team, with Thomas du Toit (prop) starting among the replacements.
Edwill van der Merwe, who scored two tries in his second match in the green and gold last week, has been named in a playmaking back three with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Aphelele Fassi, while Moodie joins forces with Damian de Allende in the midfield, and Williams pairs up with Feinberg-Mngomezulu at halfback.
Up front, apart from a new-look front row and rejigged loose trio, Eben Etzebeth will link up with Ruan Nortje in the engine room.
Kick off on Saturday is at 17:10.
SIYA KOLISI RETURNS TO CAPTAIN SPRINGBOKS
15 – Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 11 caps, 35 points (7t)
14 – Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 2 caps, 15 pts (3t)
13 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 13 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 88 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 95 points (19t)
10 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 9 caps, 52 points (14c, 8p)
9 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 17 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 – Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 1 cap, 0 pts
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 87 caps, 40 pts (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 92 caps, 60 points (12t)
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 7 caps, 0 pts
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 132 caps, 35 points (7t)
3 – Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers) – uncapped
2 – Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets) – uncapped
1 – Boan Venter (Edinburgh) – uncapped
Replacements:
16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 78 caps, 70 points (14t)
17 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 62 caps, 5 points (1t)
19 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 41 caps, 10 points (2t)
20 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 52 caps, 45 points (9t)
21 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 59 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5p)
22 – Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 81 caps, 784 points (7t, 115c, 168p, 5dg)
23 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 40 caps, 56 points (4t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)
Facts and Stats”
Head-to-head v Georgia:
Played: 2, Won: 2; Points for: 86; Points against: 26; Tries for: 12; Tries against: 1; Win%: 100%
Miscellaneous
- It will be the Georgians’ second trip to South Africa to face the Springboks – the same number of times the nations have met to date. Their first outing was in the pool stages of the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia where the Springboks won 46-19, and the second time in Pretoria in 2021 when the Boks registered a 40-9 victory.
- Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 133 Test matches when he takes the field.
- This match will mark Siya Kolisi’s first match back in the green and gold in the 2025 season.
- Kurt-Lee Arendse requires only five more points to score 100 Test points for the Springboks.
- Siya Kolisi will require only seven more Test appearances after this match to become the ninth Springbok in the history of South African rugby to earn 100 Test caps.
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 484.
- There are 165 caps in the backline, with 319 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 437 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline are 24, the forwards 40, while the players on the bench average 55.
What is your score prediction?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
