News24 | Rassie rings the changes for Wallabies, Esterhuizen named Springbok captain

Springboks star Andre Esterhuizen.

(Anton Geyser/Gallo Images)

• The Springboks have made wholesale changes to their side for Saturday’s clash against Australia.
• Andre Esterhuizen will captain his country for the first time.
• Handre Pollard and Franco Mostert are the other high-profile players to return.
• For more Springbok news, click HERE.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made wholesale changes to his side for the one-off Test against Australia in Perth on Saturday.

The side that played the bulk of the four Tests against New Zealand in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry has been almost entirely rested - Eben Etzebeth and Ethan Hooker retain their places - and the Boks have a fresh look about them for the Wallabies.

Andre Esterhuizen, who starts at No 12, will captain the Boks for the first time, while Jasper Wiese will earn his 50th Test cap off the bench

In total, Erasmus made 13 changes to his starting team from the side’s 43-28 victory against the All Blacks just over a week ago in Baltimore.

READ | Rob Houwing | Easy does it… too early to crown ‘Krappie’ Bok top dog

Handre Pollard returns at flyhalf, Aphelele Fassi is given another crack at fullback, Franco Mostert returns to partner Etzebeth in the second row, while Paul de Villiers, Elrigh Louw (both flankers), and Marco van Staden (No 8) will complete the forward pack.

There is also another opportunity for Herschel Jantjies at scrumhalf.

“Each player in this squad has been working hard at training over the last few months and have had a chance to play in either the first leg of the Nations Championship or RGR, or both, while guys like Handre and Canan [Moodie] have recovered from injury, and they are all quality players, so we are pleased to give them a run and we are excited to see this team in action,” said Erasmus.

“Australia poses a completely different threat to New Zealand in the way they play, so we believe these combinations would be best suited for the challenge that we will face against them.”

Erasmus was also pleased to see Esterhuizen lead the Springboks for the first time: “He captained the Sharks, and he has brought so much to our squad off and on the field, both at centre and in the loose trio, and he thoroughly deserves this opportunity.

“It will also help build our leadership core even more within the team with several players having captained the side over the last few seasons, and we trust that he is the right man to take over the captaincy in this match.”

Springbok team:

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels

Substitutes:

16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn

Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende, meanwhile, have been released from camp, Erasmus.

“They had a heavy workload in the last few months, and they deserve a break, but at the same time we decided from the outset that if everything went according to plan, we would rest them for this match, so it made sense to send them home to spend time with their families,” Erasmus said.

“We’ve been working closely with our Head of Athletic Performance Andy Edwards on how best to manage the players to get the most out of them in this important encounter, so we had a few days off for the players’ bodies to recover from the last few Tests and also from the travel, so we had two days of training in Terrigal and resumed our usual Test week programme on Tuesday.

“This is going to be a big challenge against a team that has been playing good rugby, and who have won four of their last five matches, with their other result being a draw against the Pumas in Argentina.

“They also suffered a narrow defeat against Ireland in the Nations Championship and registered a comprehensive victory over Italy, and they will be playing in front of their home crowd, so we know a big game lies ahead.

“They are a proud nation and will certainly want to continue building momentum going into their next two clashes against the All Blacks and the second leg of the Nations Championship in November, so they are going to throw everything at us. Adding to that, they have physical forwards and a very exciting backline, so it will take another big performance from us to get the result.”