On Tuesday, Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber named a staff displaying 5 adjustments and two positional switches from the aspect that ran out in opposition to Ireland final weekend.
The choice to begin Willie le Roux at fullback and permit Cheslin Kolbe to revert to his acquainted place on the proper wing was unsurprising, whereas the expertise of Faf de Klerk would have factored into the choice to begin the World Cup winner at No 9. Jaden Hendrikse falls out of the matchday squad, and Cobus Reinach will type a part of the bomb squad.
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Perhaps the most sudden choice, nevertheless, was the number of Kurt-Lee Arendse on the left wing, with Makazole Mapimpi dropping to the bench.
The 32-year-old Mapimpi has performed 34 Tests during his career, beginning each single considered one of them. On simply three events he has began on the proper wing, whereas 31 Tests have been in the No 11 jersey.
Ultimately, Nienaber mentioned they felt the again three mixture of Le Roux, Arendse and Kolbe was what they wanted for this recreation in opposition to the French.
“We really thought Willie brought good direction when he came on in the second half (against Ireland), and he obviously has all that experience with him. Then we know what Cheslin and Kurt-Lee can offer on the wings, while Makazole will bring us more quality to come off the bench. So we just thought this was the best combination to face the French, who have a different style of play.”
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Springboks staff to face France in Marseille:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 80 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Toulon) – 21 caps, 53 pts (10t, 1p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 57 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 67 caps, 45 pts (9t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 15 pts (3t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 24 caps, 22 pts (1t, 4c, 3p)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 43 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 19 caps, 5 pts (1t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 65 caps, 15 pts (3t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 72 caps, 40 pts (8t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 60 caps, 15 pts (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 107 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 55 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 53 caps, 55 pts (11t)
1 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 16 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 56 caps, 65 pts (13t)
17 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 68 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (unattached) – 39 caps, 0 pts
19 – Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 0 pts
20 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 28 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 22 caps, 40 pts (8t)
22 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – uncapped
23 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 34 caps, 110 pts (22t)
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Springbok report in opposition to France:
Played 44; Won 27; Lost 11; Drawn 6; Points for: 939, Points in opposition to: 662; Tries scored 105, Tries conceded 59; Highest rating 52-10; Biggest win 42 factors. Win % 61%.
Milestones:
- Jesse Kriel is the solely participant in the squad who has scored multiple strive in opposition to France. He is at the moment on three tries.
- Siya Kolisi holds the most Test caps in opposition to France in the Springbok squad, with six Tests performed.
- Eben Etzebeth is the second most capped Springbok lock with 107 Tests.
Miscellaneous:
- The whole Test caps for the Springbok beginning line-up is 725.
- There are 278 caps in the backline, with 447 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are an additional 255
- The common caps per participant in the backline are 39, the forwards 55, whereas the gamers on the bench common 31.
