SPORT Four new caps in Bok line-up
Call-ups for Janse van Rensburg, Ulengo, Cassiem, Du Preez are long overdue
Ihighly doubt there are Springbok supporters who are beside themselves with excitement for South Africa’s match against Wales tomorrow (7.30pm kickoff). And who can blame them? But one thing they can definitely be excited about is the inclusion of four promising debutants.
Powerhouse Lions centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Bulls try master Jamba Ulengo and Cheetahs star flank Uzair Cassiem have all been included in Allister Coetzee’s run-on side for the clash at the Millennium Stadium, while Sharks loose forward Jean-Luc du Preez will add some punch on the bench.
Janse van Rensburg and Ulengo take over from Damian de Allende and Bryan Habana respectively. And their call-ups are long overdue. But all that flair doesn’t end there. Elton Jantjies starts at flyhalf and will look to re-establish his potent halfback combination with fellow Lions man Faf de Klerk, who will start at scrumhalf in the place of Rudy Paige.
Johan Goosen will fill out the revamped backline when he starts at fullback.
In the other change upfront, Lourens Adriaanse comes in at tighthead in place of Vincent Koch.
With a total of 12 changes to the matchday 23, Coetzee put the much-changed side down to a combination of factors. And after securing only four wins in 11 Tests, there’s no better time than now for the Bok coach to throw caution to the wind and experiment with his abundant resources. Coetzee praised Cassiem’s outstanding performances this season.
“Uzair was impressive during our domestic competitions. He made a good impression during the build-up to the Barbarians match and has continued to work hard on this tour since re-joining us,” he said.
Desperation combined with a star-studded team sounds like an appetising treat, but let’s hope Coetzee allows his players to express themselves creatively and call the shots as they see them.
Teams for Cardiff
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens ,1 Ge thin Jenkins( captain ). Replacements :16 Scott Baldwin ,17 Nicky Smith ,18 Samson Lee ,19 Cory Hill ,20 Tau lupeF ale tau ,21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts.
Springboks: 15 Johan Goosen, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira; Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jean-Luc du Pree, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lionel Mapoe