Etzbeth to captain South Africa

Pretoria: Eben Etzebeth will captain South Africa in their opening Rugby Championship game of 2019, against Australia at Ellis Park on Sunday (Fiji time).

Etzebeth takes over the captaincy from regular skipper Siya Kolisi, who is recovering from a knee injury, while Aphiwe Dyantyi was also not considered for selection because of a hamstring injury. It will be Etzebeth’s 12th Test as Bok captain.

Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse) and Herschel Jantjies (Stormers) are the only two uncapped players in the starting team, while Lizo Gqoboka (prop, Bulls) is also set to earn his debut off the bench.

Elstadt is picked at flank in a loose trio that also includes the experienced duo of PieterSteph du Toit (46 caps) and Francois Louw (65 caps). Jantjies, will play alongside the 33-cap Elton Jantjies in a new-look half-back combination.

On the bench there is also a return to the Bok fold for a number of familiar faces as Rassie Erasmus casts his net wide with the 2019 Rugby World Cup squad in mind. They are Ulster loose forward Marcell Coetzee, Cobus Reinach (Northampton Saints, scrumhalf), the mercurial Frans Steyn (Montpellier, utility back) and Dillyn Leyds (Stormers, utility back).

The Springbok pack for Saturday’s match on the Highveld is hugely experienced, sharing 394 caps, and is expected to the lead the charge against the wily Wallaby forward unit. Etzebeth has 75 caps to his name, his lock partner Lood de Jager is set to make his 39th appearance while Tendai Mtawarira has already played in 107 Tests.

LINE-UP

South Africa: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Francois Louw, 7 PieterSteph du Toit, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Beast Mtawarira Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds

MATCH OFFICALS

Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand): Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Karl Dickson (England); TMO: Rowan Kitt (England).