South Africa will be led by returning captain Siyakolisi when they face Georgia in Tests at Mbombella Stadium on Saturday, with coach Racy Erasmus naming three debutant starters in the front row.
Injured in the two Tests against Boks, Kolisi will rejoin Eben Eteves in the pack to show leadership over rookies Born Benter, Manus del Melwe and Niesling Fasch in two Tests against Italy, both easily won.
After Vincent Tshituka (Flanker), Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabanye (Prop) and Ethan Hooker (Utility Back) all made their Test debuts against Italy, the three unstored front ranks will increase the number of newly capped players to seven this season.
Erasmus said on the SA Rugby website:
“Marnus and Neesling have played against the wild bars, so they have ideas about what international rugby is, but Born has shown great potential at the club level and at the team in recent weeks and we look forward to seeing him play.”
Erasmus added: “Since 2018, Building Squad Depth has been one of our pillars and everything is definitely ready to step up.”
Zoned into the team’s selection, Erasmus said, “We know how passionate and intense this Georgian side is, so they decide to make a strong statement. So we chose experienced players who wanted to increase the game time before the Castle Ruger Rugby Championship, selected some of the younger players and did another run.
The Boxes weren’t losing to Georgia (scoring 12 scores in two matches), but they last performed in 2021, but Erasmus said they’ll take them seriously to find their best combination before the rugby championship.
He states: “Georgia is strict about his outfit and takes pride in his physicality and wild strength in collisions, so set pieces, malls and breakdowns become key areas.
“They also have quality backline players to close out their teams, so they need to be sharp in every department of the game.
Springbox Team:
#springboks The team facing Georgia has a front row with a new look, but Siya Kolisi is back for the first time in 2025 💚💛#forevergreenforevergold
– Spring Box (@spring Box) July 15, 2025