Boks Change Two For Les Bleus Battle

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made just two changes to the match-23 for Friday night’s Nations Championship Test against France in Paris.

The only change to the starting XV that initiated last weekend’s 66-7 win over Italy in Turin comes in the front row, where Wilco Louw replaces Thomas du Toit. The experienced Cobus Reinach, meanwhile, unseats Grant Williams on the bench.

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There is thus no place for Salmaan Moerat, who was forced to withdraw last weekend due to back spasms, Eben Etzebeth, who was called up as an injury replacement for Yaqeen Ahmed, or the five uncapped players in the squad, namely Markus Muller, Emmanuel Tshituka, Luan Giliomee, Riley Norton and Sebastian de Klerk.

Louw will join forces with Ox Nche and Malcolm Marx in the front row, with Lood de Jager and Ruan Nortje getting an opportunity to build on their efforts as a lock pairing, while the experienced loose trio of captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Jasper Wiese complete the forward pack.

Erasmus stuck to his guns in the backline, meaning Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will once again run the show, with Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel holding things down in the midfield, and Ethan Hooker, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse serving as the back three.

Erasmus again went for a six-two bench in favour of the forwards. Du Toit joins Gerhard Steenekamp and Jan-Hendrik Wessels as the back-up front row, with Franco Mostert, Cameron Hanekom and Paul de Villiers set to offer power and non-stop energy.

Reinach will offer added experience, both in terms of Test match rugby and playing in French conditions, with Manie Libbok completing the match-23 as the second backline replacement.

A total of 16 players in the matchday squad featured in the Boks’ 32-17 victory over France in Paris last year, including the entire starting forward pack with the exception of Nche, as well as four of the backs in the run-on team – Feinberg-Mngomezulu, De Allende, Kriel, and Willemse. Ten players in the group were members of the team that defeated France 29-28 in the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

“We said from the outset that we would not rotate too much on this tour, so it was always our intention to select a settled squad for this game to build momentum in the competition,” said Erasmus.

“Most of these players have faced France at home and know what to expect from them, and they have also experienced their passionate and vocal crowd first-hand.”

Of the two changes to his team, Erasmus said: “Our front rows are well settled and have all been playing together for a few seasons, so we made a rotational switch with Wilco and Thomas, while Cobus is also very familiar with the French conditions as he played club rugby here, so we thought bringing him into the mix would be good against a quality French outfit.”

Commenting on the decision not to name Etzebeth, who arrived in France early on Monday morning in the squad, Erasmus said: “Eben just arrived in France, and although we know what he brings to the team, but we feel it would be better for him to get back into the swing of things this week after some time on the sidelines.

“Lood and Franco are also very experienced players and they have been training with us for almost two weeks now after arriving in Italy the week prior to last week’s Test match. They’ve both faced France in high pressure matches and delivered, so we know what we have in them and what they will bring to the team this week.”

The Bok coach expected a colossal encounter against France, who pushed the Boks to the limit in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, and also in their clash last year, in which the Boks held a one-point lead at the break, and he anticipated another grind of a match.

“Matches between us and France are always intense, and this week will be no different,” said Erasmus.

“Both teams have everything to play for, with France leading the northern hemisphere standings and the team being ranked fourth in the world, and we are in a similar situation trying to hold onto the top spots in the respective Nations Championship hemisphere tables, so this match is vital for both sides to try to advance to the final of the competition in a few weeks.

“They also always have a passionate crowd behind them that will definitely fuel their team, but we also enjoy the atmosphere at Stade de France, so neither team will give an inch.

“Our focus though is on what we want to do as a team, so it will be vital to execute our game plan accurately and make the most of the point-scoring chances we create.

“They have a good pack of forwards and dangerous backs, so we need to be at our best to get the desired result.”

Fast facts:

• Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx will both enter the match with 95 Test caps to their name, meaning they require only four more Test appearances after this weekend to join the exclusive club of Bok centurions.
• Ten players in the matchday squad played in the RWC quarter-final against France in 2023, while 16 players were involved in the match-up between the team’s last season.
• The Springboks have won the last five matches between the teams in Paris, dating back to 2013. Les Bleus last won a match against the Boks in the French capital in 2005.
• Siya Kolisi will lead the Boks for the 70th time when he takes the field. In his last match against France, he earned the significant milestone of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in history.
• The total Test caps in the starting line-up are 896. There are 344 caps in the backline, with 552 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 269 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 49, the forwards 69, while the players on the bench average 34.

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.