Confirmed: When Springboks name team to face England
11/12/2024 12:35 AM
Last week Rassie Erasmus kept everyone guessing around the team selection when he opted to announce the matchday squad as late as Friday.
He ultimately opted to give game-time to several members of what is effectively the ‘second’ Springbok team, and they managed to get the job done in claiming a good win over Scotland.
However, Erasmus is now expected to name his strongest available team for the next game against England, and it’s been confirmed that the team announcement media conference will take place on Thursday, 14 November, at 13:00 (SA time).
Kick off on Saturday is at 19:40 (SA time).
HERE IS HOW THE SPRINGBOKS ARE LIKELY TO LINE UP AGAINST ENGLAND:
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Lous, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.
The Springboks made the journey from Scotland to London on Monday and will begin training for their next assignment against England on Tuesday. They will complete their tour on Saturday, 23 November, against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Kwagga Smith, who ran out for his 50th Test cap in the Springboks' 32-15 victory against Scotland, reflected on his journey from the national sevens team to national honours in fifteens.
"Playing sevens and going to the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as playing 35 tournaments for the Blitzboks was fantastic, but then one sets your next goal, and I wanted to be a Springbok.
"I didn't think I'd get to 50 Test matches, so it's an honour and special to give something back to this team."
With a massive Test lined up against England at the Allianz Stadium in London on Saturday, utility back Canan Moodie said the victory gave them valuable momentum going into the next Test.
"It's a short turnaround to the England match, so we have to prepare well for that, but we'll take confidence from that result (against Scotland). It was a tough first half, but the win was a good start to the tour," said Moodie.
WHAT IS YOUR SCORE PREDICTION FOR SATURDAY?
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