Kriel To Captain New-Look Boks In Wallabies Rematch

Only five players in the run-on side have retained their places from the defending champions’ shock 38-22 loss at Ellis Park last weekend, namely Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams, and Jesse Kriel – who takes over the captaincy from the injured Siya Kolisi.

Also unavailable due to injury are Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Edwill van der Merwe. Kriel will lead his country for the second time in a Test, while Nche will serve as vice-captain for the first time.

Nche and Marx will be joined in the front row by Thomas du Toit, with RG Snyman and Ruan Nortje forming a new lock pairing. Van Staden, meanwhile, will form a loose trio with Franco Mostert and Jean-Luc du Preez.

Handre Pollard is back at flyhalf, where he’ll link up with Williams, fit-again Damian de Allende reunites with Kriel in the midfield for the 38th time, while the back three consists of superstar Cheslin Kolbe, who’s back from injury, Canan Moodie, and centurion Willie le Roux.

Erasmus has packed the bench with six forwards in Marnus van der Merwe, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, and Kwagga Smith, with Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu providing backline cover.

Fast facts:

• Jesse Kriel will lead the Springboks for the second time in a Test after taking charge of the team against Italy in the Incoming Series in July.
• Ox Nche will serve as the Springbok vice-captain for the first time in his career, which began back in 2018.
• Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende will extend their record as the most-capped Springbok centre pairing in history, taking the field together for the 38th time this weekend.
• Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 134 Test matches.
• Handre Pollard needs three points to reach 800 points in Tests for South Africa.
• Damian De Allende will move into 10th place on the list of most-capped Springboks, with 90 Tests. He is currently tied on 89 with Pieter-Steph du Toit and the late Joost van der Westhuizen.
• The match will mark the first time the teams meet in Cape Town since 2014 – the Boks won the match 28-10.
• The Boks have won seven of their last eight matches against the Wallabies in Cape Town since 1992 – a track record they will be determined to build on this weekend. Their only defeat against the Wallabies in Cape Town was in 1992, when the visitors won 26-3.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up are 725.
• There are 428 caps in the backline, with 318 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 329 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline are 61, the forwards 40, while the players on the bench average 41.

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 RG Snyman,3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu