Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will play the biggest Test of his short career when he starts at flyhalf for the Springboks in Saturday’s Rugby Championship blockbuster against the All Blacks at Ellis Park (5pm start).
The Stormers youngster started both games against the Wallabies in Australia in the No 10 jersey, and on Tuesday, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus maintained the status quo in the pivot position, with double World Cup winner Handré Pollard – who many expected to return to the starting line-up – on the bench.
Erasmus’ bold selection strategy this year didn’t end there, as he has called on Aphelele Fassi at fullback ahead of veteran playmaker Willie le Roux.
Fassi has been excellent in his comeback to the Test scene this year, and was particularly composed in the wet conditions in Perth in the Boks’ 30-12 victory a few weeks ago.
The Sharks star forms part of an exciting backline led by Cobus Reinach at scrumhalf, while Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will command the midfield, with speedsters Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse at wing.
There is a welcome new face at No 8, where the powerful Jasper Wiese is back in action after a six-match suspension. He hasn’t played any rugby for nearly three months as a result, but Erasmus didn’t hesitate to call on the former Cheetahs star at the back of the scrum.
But the Bok boss’ hand has been forced in the loose trio due to the injuries at lock, which sees Eben Etzebeth (knee) and Salmaan Moerat (concussion) joining RG Snyman (foot), Franco Mostert (broken leg), Lood de Jager (shoulder) and Jean Kleyn (eye and knee) on the sidelines.
That means Pieter-Steph du Toit will step into the No 4 jersey, while Bulls captain Ruan Nortjé continues at No 5 after a solid display in Perth, and Ben-Jason Dixon comes in at blindside flank.
But Erasmus then explained during a press conference that Etzebeth could still feature in Saturday’s match if he comes through training unscathed later on Tuesday.
Erasmus resisted the temptation to change his front row after weekend media speculation that Gerhard Steenekamp would start at loosehead prop, as Ox Nche will wear the No 1 jersey on Saturday.
“It’s not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan stood his man in our last match and we are confident that he’ll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock,” Erasmus said on Tuesday.
“This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.
“It’s also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back, and we know that he’ll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field, and we are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.
“We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black backline.
“We’ve seen what most of these players can do under pressure in Australia, and we’re confident that they’ll want to build on that against the All Blacks.”
The #Springboks team to face New Zealand in Johannesburg feature a new locking combination amongst a host of changes - more here: https://t.co/kllUmxNl5Q 🇿🇦#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/ZONwaG7Jo4
Erasmus added that the lock resources may look a bit better for the second All Black Test in Cape Town next weekend.
“Eben may have been ready to play this week if we really needed him, but we feel we will benefit more from selecting a player that is 100% fit, and Salmaan should also be back in selection frame next week after following the return to play protocols.
“We’re happy that things will ease significantly for us in that department going into the second Test.”
There is a six-two bench split in favour of the forwards, where there are three loose forwards in Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw and Kwagga Smith, with Dixon able to move to lock if necessary in the second half.
One-cap second-rower Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg was left out, with Erasmus also giving Steven Kitshoff (prop), Canan Moodie (wing) and Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf) “more time to adjust to the new structures”.
* Erasmus stated on Tuesday that four squad members will be released to their Currie Cup teams on Wednesday to get game-time, and will return to the Bok group on Sunday: Steven Kitshoff, Manie Libbok (both Western Province), Canan Moodie (Blue Bulls) and Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks).
Springbok Team
15 Aphelele Fassi 14 Cheslin Kolbe 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 9 Cobus Reinach 8 Jasper Wiese 7 Ben-Jason Dixon 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 Ruan Nortjé 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 16 Malcolm Marx 17 Gerhard Steenekamp 18 Vincent Koch 19 Marco van Staden 20 Elrigh Louw 21 Kwagga Smith 22 Grant Williams 23 Handré Pollard.