Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk will win his 50th cap as coach Jacques Nienaber named a strong side to face Scotland in their opening Rugby World Cup match in Marseilles on Sunday. De Klerk was given the nod at halfback ahead of the other three contenders in the squad to get his 50th cap and reach another milestone for the Springboks.
The nuggety blond scrumhalf has seen his starting role under threat in recent times with the rise of Jaden Hendrikse and Cobus Reinach’s impressive performances, but has been given the honour to gain the milestone in one of the most important matches for the Springboks at this year’s Rugby World Cup
But there were surprises in the squad as well, with Canan Moodie’s name being absent after two consecutive man of the match performances for the Springboks and a lot of speculation that he would be on the wing for the match.
Instead his Bulls team-mate Kurt-Lee Arendse lines up on the right and Cheslin Kolbe on the left to complete the scrumcap wing spots, with Damian Willemse, after his superb man of the match performance against New Zealand at Twickenham, keeping his spot at 15.
Moodie’s absence may be down to a niggle, but there were certainly more than enough indications he had done enough to keep his place through the whispers in the media sessions since Twickenham. Either way, the Boks are blessed with a lot of outside back talent to the extent that they can afford to lose Moodie, and not play either Andre Esterhuizen nor Makazole Mapimpi in their match day 23.
As expected Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende are the midfield combination and Manie Libbok joins De Klerk as the halfback pairing but up front the knee niggle that Jean Kleyn has picked up has meant that some shifting has been done in the planning to take on the Scotland pack.
Jasper Wiese shades out Duane Vermeulen for the starting spot, with the latter on the bench but Kleyn’s absence has seen the Boks go with two loose forwards on the bench rather than the Munster lock combination they fielded against New Zealand.
Wiese is joined by workhorse Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi in a strong loose trio while Franco Mostert, after a strong performance at Twickenham, earns the right to be Eben Etzebeth’s partner in the engine room.
As expected the same front row that demolished the All Blacks at Twickenham has been kept with Malcolm Marx starting alongside Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe.
The bench retains the bomb squad look, and has resisted the seven-one split that did duty at Twickenham that caused so much debate, with Bongi Mbonambi joining Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane in the fresh front row to do battle in the second half.
Snyman is once again the ultimate bench player for the Springboks and should bring both physicality and pace when he comes on while Marco van Staden’s inclusion shows just how important the breakdown will be for the Boks in the second half.
Grant Williams will be the reserve scrumhalf, aiming to inject some pace into the backline while Willie le Roux will cover the other positions at the back.
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