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By David IsaacsonDamian Willemse has been moved to inside centre — the position in which he starred in the 43-10 thumping of New Zealand last year — for the Nations Championship contest against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Willemse is one of only five other players who were in the starting XV from that which took on England at Ellis Park on Saturday, with captain Pieter-Steph du Toit reverting to flank.Outside centre Jesse Kriel, lock Ruan Nortjé and flanker Paul de Villiers are the others to start in the same positions in a team that is far less experienced than the one that took the field at the weekend.Returning to the national team after eight years is scrumhalf Embrose Papier — one of the stars of the Bulls team that made the URC final this year — who will play alongside his franchise partner Handré Pollard. With seven Tests to his name, the No 9 is one of 12 players in the match-day squad with career caps in single figures. Papier played seven Tests in 2018, five of them off the bench, before falling out of the system, but Bok coach Rassie Erasmus made the point that there were other established scrumhalves at that stage, like Faf de Klerk. We’ll definitely go into this match with a much less experienced team compared to Scotland. This will be a nice test for a lot of these guys to see when we get to the important part in the next year or two, who these guys are. We wouldn’t have them here if we didn’t think they can do the job for us— Rassie Erasmus, Springbok coach“They were really a bunch of good nines playing really well. Sometimes it’s not because one player is not playing well enough or not Springbok class; it is just because there are some other guys who are also playing really well. But I think none of us can look past the fact of how well he’s played this year,” said Erasmus. The starting XV have an average of 29.7 caps per player and the match-day squad 22.4, with the bench on an 8.6 mean. “We’ll definitely go into this match with a much less experienced team compared to Scotland. This will be a nice test for a lot of these guys to see when we get to the important part in the next year or two, who these guys are. “We wouldn’t have them here if we didn’t think they can do the job for us,” added Erasmus, explaining that his selection had nothing to do with the opposition. The Scottish, who beat Argentina 47-38 on Saturday, finished third in the Six Nations behind France and Ireland. “This team was not picked for specific reasons surrounding Scotland. It was for us to make sure that when we go into the World Cup next year, we know who can do what, when and how, under pressure and not under pressure. Some combinations were picked with that in mind.”The coach is also hamstrung by injuries. Erasmus said skipper Siya Kolisi, who pulled out of the England game because of a hamstring injury, and lock Lood de Jager will probably be fit for the Wales match in Durban next week. But lock Eben Etzebeth, who also withdrew in the hours before the match, is unlikely to play before the one-off away Test against Argentina on August 8, two weeks before the All Blacks’ tour. “He had a concussion and he had a bit of a history with concussions,” said Erasmus. Franco Mostert will probably be available around the same time. Ox Nché, who went off the field with a knee injury, Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morné van den Berg are expected to be in the frame about three weeks before the New Zealand matches. The Springbok team (with number of caps): Aphelele Fassi (15), Edwill van der Merwe (5), Jesse Kriel (88), Damian Willemse (50), Canan Moodie (24), Handré Pollard (85), Embrose Papier (7); Boan Venter (8), Johan Grobbelaar (8), Wilco Louw (30), Cobus Wiese (2), Ruan Nortjé (19), Paul de Villiers (1), Pieter-Steph du Toit (capt, 96), and Evan Roos (8).Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels (10), Ntuthuko Mchunu (3), Zach Porthen (4), Ben-Jason Dixon (8), Vincent Tshituka (1), Elrigh Louw (13), Grant Williams (29), Quan Horn (1).
