The Springboks are aiming to bounce back to the Wallabies when they come face-to-face again in Cape Town on Saturday after losing the Shock 38-22 Rugby Championship last weekend.
Lassi Erasmus sounded a change on his side after Johannesburg was defeated. But the real-life champion had some injuries to deal with. Already, their backs are against the wall, but that’s often the case when South Africa is the most amazing.
Joe Schmidt was undoubtedly greatly encouraged by consecutive wins in the final and final tests of three Tests against the Lions and Springbok of England and Ireland.
His 50% victory record so far is a major improvement for his latest predecessor in the Wallaby head coaching role. But now is the time to demonstrate that Australia is ready to turn the corner from a consistency standpoint and once again compete with the best in the world.
Important details:
Date: Saturday, August 23rd, 5:10pm Cat (3:10pm GMT, 11:10am ET)
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Judgment: James Dollman
How to watch: Matches are available on SuperSport.
Team News:
Springboks had some injuries to deal with. Jesse Kriel will captain the side in the absence of Siya Korisi, who suffered a knee injury in the last test. Kurt-Lee Arendse also has a knee injury, suffering an ankle injury, similar to Edwill van der Merwe’s Pieter-steph du toit.
Erasmus only holds five players in the starting XV after losing to the Wallabies in the previous Test. Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco Van Staden, Grant Williams and Jesse Kriel are the only places to stand as captains of Kolisi.
“We lost four players to injuries last weekend, which obviously affected some choices, but we made some changes that we believe will provide what we need for this game because we know where we got wrong against Australia last week,” Erasmus says.
“Damien (de Allende) and Cheslin (Kolbe) also recovered from injuries, and with Wallabies’ experience and knowledge, it was a logical choice to remember them.”
Springboks:
Willie Lee Lu, Canaan Moody, Jesse Cryel, Damian the Allen, Cheslin Kolbe, Handle Pollard, and Grett Williams. Jean-Lu You Preez, Franco Most, Staden’s Marco, Ruan Nort, RG Snyman, Thomas Thy Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Night
Alternatives: Marcus van Der Merwe, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Sach Feinberg Mngomezulu
Wallabys:
TBC
Alternative: TBC
statistics
Damian de Allende is ranked 10th in the list of the most capped Springboks in 90 tests. He is currently associated with Peter Steph du Toit, who is currently injured in 89, and the late Joost van der Westhuizen.
The Wallabies are visiting Cape Town for the first time since 2014 when Springbox played a home game in Newlands. On that occasion, South Africa scored 28-10.