SOUTH Africa have named a formidable squad featuring 10 players from last year’s World Cup final win for Saturday’s Test against Wales at Twickenham.
The Springboks are going strong against Warren Gatland’s men in London ahead of their summer encounters against Ireland, with flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit named as captain.
Rassie Erasmus, without Bulls players because of the United Rugby Championship final, gives starting debuts to wing Edwill van der Merwe and fly-half Jordan Hendrikse while lock Ben-Jason Dixon and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu could make international bows off the bench.
Prop Vincent Koch wins his 50th cap in a formidable front row with loosehead Ox Nche and hooker Malcolm Marx, which has the power of the imposing Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert behind it.
“This is an exciting playing squad and travelling group, and we are looking forward to seeing how the uncapped players step up at top international level and how we execute what we’ve been working on at training in the last few days and at the alignment camps,” said Erasmus.
“The likes of Edwill, Jordan, Ben-Jason, and Sacha have really impressed us at training, and we believe they have what it takes to make their presence felt against a quality team such as Wales.
“They will be surrounded by several experienced campaigners – some of whom are Rugby World Cup winners - so they will have enough guidance on the field to fulfil their roles even when the pressure is on.
“It is equally exciting for us to see players such as Aphelele (Fassi), Evan (Roos), Ntuthuko (Mchunu), and Salmaan (Moerat) back in the green in gold after earning their stripes in the last few seasons.”
LEADER: Pieter-Steph Du Toit (Image: PA)
Du Toit captains the Boks for the second time – with the first a 22-20 defeat against Wales in Washington in 2018.
“Pieter-Steph has been a key figure in our system for several years now and he’s a player who leads by example on the field,” said Erasmus.
“We have a strong core of senior players in this group, and we had a few options for captain, but we feel Pieter-Steph will be the right man to lead the team this week.
“He has captained the Springboks only once before and that was against Wales in 2018, and after that result, we believe it will make this match even more personal for him.
“Over and above that, he has immense respect from his team-mates and the coaches, and we know he will accept this responsibility with great pride.”
South Africa: Aphelele Fassi; Edwill van der Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Jordan Hendrikse, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Pieter-Steph du Toit (capt), Evan Roos.
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Ben-Jason Dixon, Grant Williams, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende.
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