After the setback against Ireland (13-8), Jacques Nienaber decided to do a large squad review for the last match of his team’s group stage. Called up following Malcolm Marx’s knee injury, Handré Pollard finds a starting place at the opening.
We expected it, and it is now confirmed: Handré Pollard will wear the green and gold jersey on Sunday evening. Beaten by the XV of Clover, missing eleven points, South Africa decided to relaunch its World Champion opener against Tonga, in Marseille.
Faced with the press, Jacques Nienaber justified his choice. “We feel he can play again. His club worked well, and the medical staff made sure he could withstand the workload this week. On the other hand, if he lasts the entire meeting, I would be surprised. We took this into account for our substitutes bench. » In a more traditional format, the ‘Squad Bomb’ will be made up of five forwards for three and three quarters.
Eben Etzebeth, Jasper Wiese and Siya Kolisi are the only survivors of the Irish skirmish. Sunday, the future Racingman will celebrate his 50the captaincy at the head of the Springboks. His coach paid tribute to the one who represents “ the image of Africa Sud ». “He’s just our leader. I think one thing that’s sometimes forgotten is that when you reach 50 games as captain of the Springboks, it proves how well you’ve done on the duration. He could have forgotten his captaincy if that had not been the case. The role of captain is based on consistency.”
The brand new three-quarter line is the one that worked wonders against Romania (76-0). On September 17, Cobus Reinach notably scored a hat-trick.
The matter should be tougher against the men of the Pacific, as Nienaber recalled. “They will enter with the belief that they have nothing to lose after giving in in their first two matches of the tournament. They will not hold back when it comes time to fight. They had very good phases against the “Scotland and Ireland. We will have to be consistent for 80 minutes. We have focused on bouncing back from Ireland, and creating a new dynamic for the rest of the competition. We are expecting a high performance quality from the boys.” The message has gotten through.
The starting XV : 15. Le Roux ; 14. Williams, 13. Moodie, 12. Esterhuizen, 11. Mapimpi ; 10. Pollard, 9. Reinach ; 7. Vermeulen, 8. Wiese, 6. Kolisi (cap.) ; 5. Orie, 4. Etzebeth ; 3. Koch, 2 Fourie, 1 Nche.
Substitutes : 16. van Staden, 17. Kitshoff 18. Nyakane, 19. Mostert, 20. Smith, 21. Hendrikse, 22. Kriel, 23. Libbok.
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