BREAKING: Thor to lead new-look Boks against Los Pumas
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Springbok No.8 Duane Vermeulen will lead a new-look Bok team in their final Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The fixture could serve as the competition decider depending on the result between New Zealand and Australia in Melbourne.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber made nine changes to the starting team that went down 20-35 against the All Blacks in Auckland two weeks ago, with the squad featuring a new halfback pairing of flyhalf Manie Libbok and scrumhalf Grant Williams.
This will mark Williams’ first start for the team.
Nienaber also rotated his loose forwards with the trio of Vermeulen and flanks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marco van Staden, who started the opening match of the competition against the Wallabies, returning to the run-on team.
The other changes to the pack of forwards were at hooker, where Malcolm Marx takes over from Bongi Mbonambi, and lock, where Marvin Orie comes in for Lood de Jager.
In the backline, meanwhile, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse – who scored a hat-trick against Australia – will start in place of Makazole Mapimpi, while experienced centre Jesse Kriel will make his first appearance of the season in the midfield alongside vice-captain Damian de Allende.
Nienaber opted for a five-three split on the bench in favour of the forwards, which includes prop Trevor Nyakane, who will provide an impact with Mbonambi, Vincent Koch (prop), RG Snyman (lock) and Kwagga Smith (loose forward).
The three backs on the bench are Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Lukhanyo Am (centre), and the versatile Damian Willemse.
“This is a quality team that will offer us the skills we need against Argentina,” said Nienaber. “It also contains a good balance of experience and youth, which is vital as we build toward the World Cup.
“There are only four more matches before we kick off our Rugby World Cup campaign so it’s a fine balancing act to give all the players a chance to stake a claim for places while selecting teams that we believe are best equipped for the opposition we’ll face, and we’re pleased with the way we’ve managed that process up to now.
“Obviously the result in New Zealand was bitterly disappointing, but we came into the season with a plan that will hopefully allow us to select the best possible squad for the World Cup and peak at the right time.”
Nienaber said the team was resolute on bouncing back from their defeat against the All Blacks and to finish the Rugby Championship on a high note. He warned, however, that his charges had to fire from starting whistle, especially given the massive physical onslaught they expected from Argentina.
“The Pumas showed in their last two games that they can be a force to be reckoned with, so we have to be sharp from the get-go, be accurate in our execution on attack and defence, and use the opportunities we create,” said Nienaber. “They pride themselves on their set pieces, they are very dangerous at exploiting your mistakes, and they never stop fighting which makes them a challenging opponent.
“But that said, we know where we went wrong in our last match, and we are determined to correct the wrongs from that day and get our season back on track.
“We are anticipating a hard-fought battle and we know we need to be focused for the full 80 minutes, but we are ready to go out there and give everything.”
Nienaber said the fact that the match would mark their last on home soil this year made the match even more significant for the team.
“We saw in 2019 how passionate the nation is about the Springboks and hopefully we can make this a good send-off for the team,” said Nienaber.
“The support we have enjoyed at Ellis Park in the past has been phenomenal, and although we know our Rugby Championship hopes of are out of hands at the moment, it would be a memorable day if things go our way, and the match proves to be a decider.”
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Lukhanyo Am, 23 Damian Willemse
Date: Saturday, July 29
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.05 (15.05 GMT; 12.05 Argentina time)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)