It will be a brand new Springbok team that competes against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday. The match serves as preparation for the World Cup tournament, which starts soon.
The Springbok management made 13 changes to the starting team that beat the very Argentines by one point at Ellis Park last weekend.
Bongi Mbonambi will take the captaincy reins with Trevor Nyakane and Thomas du Toit as his allies in the front row, while Jean Kleyn will rank with Marvin Orie in the lines.
Gerhard Steenekamp, the Bulls prop, will make his Springbok debut when he makes his appearance on the field as a substitute.
Then Deon Fourie together with Franco Mostert and Jasper Wiese is the loose trio, while Cobus Reinach is this time Manie Libbok’s liaison partner.
At the back, Canan Moodie and Makazole Mapimpi get a chance to show off their wing skills with André Esterhuizen in the no. 12 jersey.
According to Jacques Nienaber, he is satisfied with the depth of South African rugby. The team features World Cup winners as well as players who played with the British and Irish Lions.
“We have been talking for some time about the importance of giving as many players as possible a fair opportunity to show what they can do with a view to the final World Cup squad,” said the Springbok coach.
As usual, he expects a physical duel against the Argentines and he welcomes a pressure cooker situation – after all, it serves as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
“Argentina have shown in the last two seasons that they are a force to be reckoned with and it is very difficult to beat them on their home turf. Their physical play in the set pieces and their fighting spirit are their pride and we are getting ready for another tough game.”
The match starts at 21:10 on Saturday and the action is broadcast live on SuperSport.
Springboks: Damian Willemse (full back), Canan Moodie (right wing), Lukhanyo Am (outside centre), André Esterhuizen (inside centre), Makazole Mapimpi (left wing), Manie Libbok (fly-half), Cobus Reinach (scrum-half), Jasper Wiese (eighth man), Franco Mostert (flank), Deon Fourie (flank), Marvin Orie (lock), Jean Kleyn (lock), Thomas du Toit (prop), Bongi Mbonambi (captain and hooker) and Trevor Nyakane (prop). Substitutes: Joseph Dweba, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Jean-Luc du Preez, Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies, Jesse Kriel and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
