Injuries galore as young gun headlines Bok team for Sydney clash

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber has revealed his team for their Rugby Championship Round Four clash against the Wallabies in Sydney.

Talented young utility back Canan Moodie will make his Springbok debut in the clash on Saturday as injuries and the desire to try a few new player combinations saw Nienaber include eight new players in the starting team.

Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Pieter-Steph du Toit were all ruled out due to knee injuries, while Elton Jantjies injured his hand and was not available for selection this weekend, which means Damian Willemse will move from fullback to flyhalf, Jesse Kriel will slot in at centre, and Franco Mostert has been included in the loose trio.

The 19-year-old Moodie earns his first start on the right wing in a positional switch with Warrick Gelant, who has been named among the replacements, while the experienced Willie le Roux will take Willemse’s place at fullback, with the other change in the backline at scrumhalf, where Jaden Hendrikse takes over from Francois de Klerk.

Apart from Mostert’s inclusion among the forwards, prop Steven Kitshoff and hooker Malcolm Marx earn starts in a new-look front row with Frans Malherbe, while Jasper Wiese takes over at No.8 from Duane Vermeulen, who will provide an impact off the replacements bench.

These changes see a reshuffle of the front row on the bench, with Deon Fourie serving as the replacement hooker, and Retshegofaditswe Nche and Trevor Nyakane providing cover at prop.

Among the backs, Jacobus Reinach will serve as back-up for Hendrikse at scrumhalf, with Francois Steyn providing cover flyhalf and centre, while Gelant will offer options on the wing and fullback.

"We selected a team we thought would be best for this match given that we have several players out with injuries and with an eye on how we want to play," said Nienaber.

"Handre, Lukhanyo, Elton and Pieter-Steph are all carrying injuries which adds to a list that includes Cheslin Kolbe and Sibusiso Nkosi, while Kurt-Lee Arendse is also out serving a suspension, and this has forced our hand to make a few changes in some positions.

"With both flyhalves injured, Damian was the natural choice at No.10 where he has slotted in for us a lot. He is also becoming a settled player in our team with over 20 Test caps to his name.

"This will also be a great test for Canan, who was a stand-out player for the Bulls this season in the United Rugby Championship. He’s a very talented player, who will enjoy this opportunity.”

Nienaber added: "Cobus at his best is world class and having seen what he offers us at training we think he’s close to that form. With him, Warrick and Frans Steyn on the bench we have sufficient cover among the backs.”

Commenting on the changes among the forwards Nienaber said: "With Bongi [Mbonambi] and Trevor injured in the last few weeks we were in a position where we could test other combinations and we got some good answers in that regard.

"This weekend we opted to make a few switches with Ox and Trevor playing off the bench along with Deon Fourie. With Bongi and Malcolm both settled with over 50 Test caps each, it was always our plan to give Joseph [Dweba] and Deon a chance at hooker, and this week Deon gets a run."

Zoning in on the match itself, Nienaber said: "We had a thorough review of our performance against Australia last week, and the most disappointing aspect is that were dominant in several areas of the game, but we struggled to show that on the scoreboard.

"This week is a final for us to stay in the competition and we are expecting Australia to be just as desperate, but so are we.

"We let ourselves down in the last two games and we are determined to rectify that this week and change our fortunes in Australia. We’ll prepare as well as possible this week to stay in the hunt for the title," he added.

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff.

Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Retshegofaditswe Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Albertus Smith, 20 Duane Vermeulen, 21 Jacobus Reinach, 22 Francois Steyn, 23 Warrick Gelant.

Date: Saturday, September 3

Venue: Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Kick-off: 19.35 (11.35 SA time; 09.35 GMT)

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Tual Trainini (France)

TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)