Springboks Announce Changes for Second Test against Australia
South Africa’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, has modified the starting lineup for the second Rugby Championship match against Australia, which will be played in Cape Town this Saturday. Only five players from those who started the first match at Ellis Park will repeat.
In the second match, after the Springboks’ 38-22 defeat in the first encounter, Siya Kolisi, the captain, will not be present due to a knee injury, and Pieter-Steph du Toit is out with a concussion. Edwill van der Merwe and Kurt-Lee Arendse are also injured.
Erasmus confirmed on Monday to the media that Jesse Kriel will be the team captain in the absence of Kolisi. In addition, Damian de Allende and the outstanding winger Cheslin Kolbe return after overcoming injuries.
According to a statement on the official SA Rugby website, the five players who will start against Australia for the second consecutive week are Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams and Kriel, who assumes the captaincy.
Franco Mostert, Canan Moodie, Wilco Louw, Boan Venter, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith and Cobus Reinach are other players who will get minutes again against the visitors.Erasmus stated: “We lost four players to injury last weekend, which obviously had an impact on some of our selections, but we also know where we went wrong against Australia last week, so we made some changes that we believe will offer us what we need for this match.”
“Damian and Cheslin have also recovered from their injuries, and with their experience and knowledge of the Wallabies, it was a logical choice to call them up.”
Regarding the mental preparation for the second test, Rassie added: “We are determined to do things right this week.”
Erasmus expects another physical battle against the Wallabies: “There is no doubt that they will take a lot of confidence from their victory last week, and especially because they scored their first victory at Ellis Park against us in the professional era.”
“That result still hurts us, and the coaches and players are extremely disappointed with how we played last week. We know we didn’t play up to our standards in the second half, and we must rectify that.”Springboks Lineup:
