The Springboks' strength in depth will be tested on Saturday when they take on Wales in Bloemfontein as head coach Jacques Nienaber named six uncapped players for the second Test.
During the beginning of the international Test window, Nienaber emphasised that they will try to give chances to all the players in the camp. He has stayed true to his word, as only Eben Etzebeth, Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch and utility back Damian Willemse are retained from last weekend's 32-29 win.
Kurt-Lee Arendse and Evan Roos will get their first starts, while Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ruan Nortje, Deon Fourie and Grant Williams could make their debuts off the bench.
Flyhalf Handre Pollard returns to the starting line-up to captain the team in the absence of regular skipper Siya Kolisi. Nienaber elaborated on the team selection for the game at the Free State Stadium.
“Handre is one of our most experienced players and has been part of our core leadership group for a number of years now, I’m sure he will slot into the role with ease,” said Nienaber.
“We said from the outset that we needed to strike a balance between giving our talented young players an opportunity to show what they can do at an international level, and winning.
“If one looks at the balance between players who have played at this level and those who have performed consistently well for their franchises and clubs, I think we have a nice balance in this squad.”
Looking forward to the game, Nienaber is expecting Wales to come out guns blazing again. The Welsh rattled the Springboks in the first half of the first Test. The Boks needed to fall back on their experience to win the game with an 80th-minute penalty kick from Willemse.
“Wales showed last week that they are fighters and can go for the full 80 minutes, and we are expecting nothing different from them this week.
“This will certainly be a good test for the younger players in the group to measure themselves against some of the best players in Wales, some of whom played for the British & Irish Lions, so everyone knows they will be in for a proper test on Saturday.”
Nienaber rings changes for second Test
Nienaber retains four players from first match of series
Image: Charle Lombard
The Springboks' strength in depth will be tested on Saturday when they take on Wales in Bloemfontein as head coach Jacques Nienaber named six uncapped players for the second Test.
During the beginning of the international Test window, Nienaber emphasised that they will try to give chances to all the players in the camp. He has stayed true to his word, as only Eben Etzebeth, Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch and utility back Damian Willemse are retained from last weekend's 32-29 win.
Kurt-Lee Arendse and Evan Roos will get their first starts, while Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ruan Nortje, Deon Fourie and Grant Williams could make their debuts off the bench.
Flyhalf Handre Pollard returns to the starting line-up to captain the team in the absence of regular skipper Siya Kolisi. Nienaber elaborated on the team selection for the game at the Free State Stadium.
“Handre is one of our most experienced players and has been part of our core leadership group for a number of years now, I’m sure he will slot into the role with ease,” said Nienaber.
“We said from the outset that we needed to strike a balance between giving our talented young players an opportunity to show what they can do at an international level, and winning.
“If one looks at the balance between players who have played at this level and those who have performed consistently well for their franchises and clubs, I think we have a nice balance in this squad.”
Looking forward to the game, Nienaber is expecting Wales to come out guns blazing again. The Welsh rattled the Springboks in the first half of the first Test. The Boks needed to fall back on their experience to win the game with an 80th-minute penalty kick from Willemse.
“Wales showed last week that they are fighters and can go for the full 80 minutes, and we are expecting nothing different from them this week.
“This will certainly be a good test for the younger players in the group to measure themselves against some of the best players in Wales, some of whom played for the British & Irish Lions, so everyone knows they will be in for a proper test on Saturday.”
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