The reigning Rugby Championship trophy holders will be looking to bounce back after their defeat against the same team in Auckland on Saturday.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made several changes to his team for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Wellington.
This after the Boks fell 24-17 to the same team in Auckland on Saturday. The Boks need to win in Wellington to keep alive any realistic chance of them defending the title they won last year.
The biggest changes are in the backline where the Boks will have a new halfback pairing in Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, a new 13 in Canan Moodie, a new wing in Ethan Hooker and new fullback in Aphelele Fassi.
Up front, Jasper Wiese is back in the mix after serving a four-game suspension, at No 8, while Siya Kolisi moves to his No 6 position.
Lood de Jager is also back in the side, at No 4 lock, with Ruan Nortje retained at 5, while there are also several changes on the bench, the most significant being Marnus van der Merwe as back-up hooker and the inclusion of Manie Libbok and Andre Esterhuizen.
Out of the starting team from Auckland go Willie le Roux, Jesse Kriel, Handre Pollard and Eben Etzebeth.
Team for Wellington Test:
15 Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 14 caps, 35 points (7t)
14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 43 caps, 111 points (18t, 3c, 5p)
13 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 17 caps, 40 pts (8t)
12 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 42 caps, 61 points (5t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)
11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 2 caps, 0 points
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 12 caps, 58 points (17c, 8p)
9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 43 caps, 75 pts (15t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 36 caps, 10 points (2t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 90 caps, 60 pts (12t)
6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 95 caps, 65 points (13t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 10 caps, 0 pts
4 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 70 caps, 25 points (5t)
3 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 27 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 81 caps, 120 pts (24t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 44 caps, 0 pts
Bench:
16 Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets) – 2 caps, 10 points (2t)
17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 6 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 21 caps, 0 pts
19 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 43 caps, 10 points (2t)
20 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 56 caps, 50 points (10t)
21 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 22 caps, 25 pts (5t)
22 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 21 caps, 115 pts (1t, 37c, 12p)
23 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 22 caps, 5 pts (1t)
