South Africa v Georgia - Teams and Predictions
FIRST TEST: Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber knows that it won't be a walk in the park when his team comes up against Georgia in the first of two Tests on Friday.
It will be South Africa's first match on the international stage since their 32-12 victory over England in the World Cup Final on November 2. 2019.
On the other hand, Georgia competed in the Nations Cup at the backend of last year when they faced teams like England, Wales, Ireland, and Fiji.
The Georgians also had a Test against the Netherlands last weekend in the Rugby Europe Championship, which they won 48-15.
"Georgia are ranked No.12 in the world for a reason," said Nienaber.
"We did some good homework on them. If you look at their performances in the Nations Cup, after 75 minutes against Wales the score was close.
"They are a proper side and we will really need to work hard to get a foothold in the game.
"They are very good in the tight phases, the scrums, line-outs and mauling.
"They got good carriers and they are a proud rugby nation so it going to be a nice challenge for us."
Nienaber, who took over from Rassie Erasmus 18 months ag0, spoke about his relief after naming his first Bok team this week.
"It feels so long ago. You almost felt at some stage it is never going to happen," Nienaber explained.
"I am just super excited that it is actually here, and we are a couple of days away from playing our first Test match in a very long time."
Georgia are known for their strong forward pack, but head coach Levan Maisashvili said his backs need to come to the party as well.
"At the moment we have a lot of former Under-20 players, who played against strong teams at that level," said Maisashvili.
"They are young, but we hope they will develop their game as they will get a lot of experience from this.
"Our pack have always been the strongest part of our team, but we know that we are not playing against a weak team.
"We are playing against a team that has the best forwards in the world.
"We cannot play with only our forwards. If you want to play against the strongest teams you will have to use your backs and forwards.
"I hope our backs will show what they can do."
Players to watch
For South Africa: There will be a spotlight on the new faces in the squad. Rosko Specman will start on the right wing, while Aphelele Fassi, who has been in hot form for the Sharks, has been named on the left wing. There is also No.8 Jasper Wiese on the bench. Wiese was outstanding for Leicester Tigers this past season and he will be looking to carry that form into the national set-up. With Duane Vermeulen out injured, Kwagga Smith gets a chance to impress the Bok coaches before Wiese gets an opportunity in the second half.
For Georgia: The Georgians have a strong pack of forwards and their game plan will mostly revolve around them. Hooker Jaba Bregvadze has been one of the best in his position in Europe for a long time now he comes into this match with 66 caps to his name. In the second row, Kote Mikautadze, who plays for Toulon, is a colossus and he will bring some much-need power up front against a powerful Bok pack.
Head to head
There has been a lot of talk on the battle between the two forward packs. The Georgians are known for their scrum and it will be one area where they could give the Springboks some problems. Trevor Nyakane, Bongi Mbonambi and Retshegofaditswe Nche will certainly have a big challenge on their hands against Giorgi Melikidze, Jaba Bregvadze and Guram Gogichashvili. Akaki Tabutsadze and Demur Tapladze could have a hard time marking Rosko Specman and Aphelele Fassi in the backline.
Previous encounter:
2003: South Africa won 46-19, Sydney (WC pool match)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Springboks by 35 points.
Teams:
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Aphelele Fassi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Albertus Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse.
Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (captain), 11 Demur Tapladze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Vasil Lobzhaidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Gigauri Davit, 3 Giorgi Melikidze, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Guram Gogichashvili.
Replacements: 16 Giorgi Chkoidze, 17 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 18 Luka Japaridze, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Giorgi Javakhia, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Giorgi Babunashvili, 23 Ilia Spanderashvili.
Date: Friday, July 2
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 19.00 (21.00 GET; 17.00 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be chilly, but the skies will be clear. There will also be a slight breeze.
Referee: Mike Adamson
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Frank Murphy
TMO: Marius Jonker