All Blacks v Springboks: Rassie Erasmus sticks with bench front rowers as starters for third test
All Blacks v Springboks, 3.10am Sunday
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has made four predictable changes to the team that beat the All Blacks last weekend for the third test on Sunday.
Fullback Damian Willemse has been ruled out by a hamstring injury that forced him to retire at half-time in the 33-26 victory in Cape Town that levelled the four-match series at 1-1.
Cheslin Kolbe, who kicked 18 points in the second test triumph, switches from the right wing to replace Willemse and Kurt-Lee Arendse takes over the No.14 shirt.
The starting front row last weekend – loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp, 39-year-old hooker Deon Fourie and tighthead prop Thomas du Toit – will begin the third test on the bench.
In their places come Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw, who were chosen to start in Cape Town only to be told one hour before the kickoff they would begin the test as substitutes.
Erasmus said a change in the match day weather from wet to dry conditions triggered the last-minute reshuffle.
“We started with the ‘reserve’ front row because they were lighter. Had it been wet, we would have stuck with the original line-up,” he told reporters.
New Zealand won the first test because they were more clinical than South Africa inside the “22”. The Springboks reversed that pattern in Cape Town.
“We know how it felt [losing] after the first match in Johannesburg, and such a result really galvanises a team,” Erasmus said.
“So, we have no doubt that they [New Zealand] will go full-out to win this test before the series finale in the USA next week.
“They are one of the two best teams in the world and, based on experience, they never give up, as we saw last weekend. This will undoubtedly be another epic encounter.”
The first test in Johannesburg was staged at Ellis Park. This weekend it will be the turn of Soccer City near Soweto, the national football stadium which can accommodate 92,000 spectators.
Springboks side to play third test
1. Ox Nche, 2. Malcolm Marx, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Ruan Nortje, 6. Siya Kolisi (capt), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Jasper Wiese, 9. Cobus Reinach, 10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11. Ethan Hooker, 12. Damian de Allende, 13. Jesse Kriel, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 15. Cheslin Kolbe.
Replacements: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Thomas du Toit, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Andre Esterhuizen, 21. Cameron Hanekom, 22. Morne van den Berg, 23. Manie Libbok
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