Rassie Erasmus will hand two players a debut against Wallabies
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YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 02: Rassie Erasmus, Head Coach of South Africa poses for a portrait with the Web Ellis Cup following his team's victory against England in the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final between England and South Africa at International Stadium Yokohama on November 02, 2019 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by David Ramos - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will mark his first starting for Springboks in the opening Rugby Championship match against Wallabies when he plays at No 10 position.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was on the bench in the Springboks’ first four Test matches of the year, making his debut against Wales at Twickenham and played the two-match series against Ireland and the one-off Test against Portugal.
Blue Bulls forward Elrigh Louw is set to make his debut for the Boks this weekend and he will operate at No 8 for the match at the Suncorp Stadium on Bristane on Saturday morning SA time.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has called-in many of the players who were the part of Boks in the Ireland series that saw two nations played to a 1-1.
The World Champions will make three changes from the squad that played against Irish and the new face will be Louw, two-time Rugby World Cup-winning scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, and replacement utility forward Ben-Jason Dixon.
Only six players will continue in the squad that won 64-21 against Portugal at the end of July, with Louw, Reinach, Dixon, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, RG Snyman (lock) and Kurt-Lee Arendse (wing) will all start against the Wallabies.
Reinach get another shot with No 9 jersey after Faf de Klerk obtain injury against Ireland. Flyhalf Handre Pollard will be cover off the replacements’ bench.
After announcing his squad Erasmus was happy that the two player will get opportunity to gain experience and show their skills.
Erasmus said “Sacha has made a notable impact off the bench in all four Tests he has played so far, and he’s slotted into the system with ease, so we are excited to see what dynamic he adds to the team as a starter.
“His goal-kicking has also been impressive, and we know that against teams like Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina the margins are very small, so every point will count.
“We’re also keen to see what Elrigh brings to the game, given his consistently strong performances for the Vodacom Bulls in the last few seasons and off the bench against Portugal.
“With Pieter-Steph (du Toit) and Siya (Kolisi) alongside him, he’ll have good guidance to play to his strengths and do what he does best.”
Here is the team that will challenge Wallabies
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Here they are replacement players against Wallabies
16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handré Pollard.
BY LUCKY SEANEGO
