Rassie rings the changes
Rassie says home side are desperate to win this one.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has stamped his approval on fullback Damian Willemse and scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl, with both players being promoted to the starting line-up for tomorrow’s England Test at Twickenham.
Seven changes were made yesterday to the Bok team who lost their last Test 32-30 against New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld, with Willemse coming in for Willie le Roux and Van Zyl replacing the impressive Faf de Klerk, both of whom were unavailable due to club commitments.
After three games from the bench, Willemse is due to make his first start, while Van Zyl was preparing for his second start in his fourth Test, after starting against Wales in the opening Test of the season.
The third backline change saw wing Sbu Nkosi returning for Cheslin Kolbe who was also unavailable.
With the Boks having won five of their last six Tests against England at Twickenham, they were set to carry significant experience into the match, with only Willemse and hooker Malcolm Marx having never faced their hosts before.
“England will be desperate to win this one at Twickenham and they have selected a formidable side,” Erasmus said.
Up front, Duane Vermeulen was set to make his first start in the blindside flank position in his 43rd Test, while Warren Whiteley was back at No 8 for the first time since the Wellington Test against the All Blacks, after recovering from a groin injury.
Other changes included the positional move from flank to lock of Pieter-Steph du Toit, with Franco Mostert unavailable, while Erasmus named two locks on the bench in Lood de Jager – making his first appearance of 2018 after a lengthy chest injury lay-off – and RG Snyman. Centre Andre Esterhuizen had also been added to the bench.
This meant that Du Toit would revert to flank during the course of the game if one of De Jager or Snyman had to come on, or both if Eben Etzebeth was also substituted.
The front row of Steven Kitshoff, Marx and Frans Malherbe were all retained.