Springbok utility forward Pieter-Steph du Toit will mark the achievement of becoming the 11th player in history to earn 100 South Africa Test caps in Saturday’s second Test against the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium.Prop Ox Nché will join the club of players to earn 50 caps in the Test.We have regrouped and identified the areas of our game we need to fix.— Bok coach Rassie ErasmusSpringbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a similar starting XV on Monday to the one that lined up against the All Blacks in Johannesburg last week. The only changes saw Siya Kolisi bracketed alongside Paul de Villiers at flanker, while Handré Pollard and Cobus Reinach will start as the halfback pairing and Ethan Hooker takes over from Cheslin Kolbe on the wing after Kolbe picked up a niggle in the first Test.Should Kolisi make it through training comfortably this week, he will replace Paul de Villiers, joining Du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the loose trio. Hooker’s inclusion sees Kurt-Lee Arendse switch from the left to right wing in an exciting back three with Damian Willemse. Pieter-Steph du Toit retains the captaincy.If Kolisi runs out at Cape Town Stadium, it will be the most experienced Springbok team ever to take the field, with a combined total of 1,012 Test caps in the starting XV.The switches on the bench see the inclusion of 39-year-old Deon Fourie in a back-up front row with Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit, while Lood de Jager (lock) and Cameron Hanekom (loose forward) will join hybrid Andre Esterhuizen as the replacement forwards.The two replacement backs are scrumhalf Morné van den Berg and the versatile Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.All of the players in the match-day squad, with the exception of Fourie, who last wore the green and gold jersey in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, featured in the Boks’ last two Test matches, against Argentina and the All Blacks.“Cheslin and Grant [Williams] suffered niggles last weekend, which ruled them out of contention for selection, while we have bracketed Siya alongside Paul to allow us time to monitor how Siya comes through training this week,” Erasmus said.“The changes we made are in line with what we want to achieve on the field this week. It is valuable that almost all of the players have been involved in the last two games, so they will be able to cope with the intensity and physicality of this match.”Erasmus said it was exciting to have flyhalves with different skillsets in the squad.“Handré has delivered for us under extreme pressure, and we feel that what he and Cobus have the potential to bring at the beginning of the game. Then have Morné and Sacha come on later with their different styles of play will be good for us this weekend.”Erasmus said one “could see the hurt on everyone’s faces after Saturday’s match and we know what we have to do to bounce back strongly this week”.“While we are fully aware of the challenging task ahead, we have regrouped and identified the areas of our game we need to fix, so we are ready and excited for the match in Cape Town.”The match kicks off at 5.10pm.Springbok team:15 Damian Willemse (Stormers) – 53 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)14 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Dynaboars) – 33 caps, 125 pts (25t)13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 91 caps, 115 pts (23t)12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 100 caps, 55 pts (11t)11 Ethan Hooker (Sharks) – 10 caps, 10 pts (2t)10 Handre Pollard (Bulls) – 87 caps, 832 pts (8t, 130 c, 175 p, 5dg)9 Cobus Reinach (Stormers) – 54 caps, 100 pts (20t)8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 46 caps, 20 pts (4t)7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Verblitz) – 99 caps, 70 pts (14t)6 Siya Kolisi (Stormers) – 104 caps, 70 pts (14t) / Paul de Villiers (Stormers) – 4 cap, 5 pts (1t)5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) - 21 caps, 5 pts (1t)4 Eben Etzebeth (Sharks) – 143 caps, 45 pts (9t)3 Wilco Louw (Stormers) – 32 caps, 10 pts (2t)2 Malcolm Marx (Spears) – 90 caps, 135 pts (27t)1 Ox Nche (Sharks) – 49 caps, 0 ptsReplacements:16 Deon Fourie (Stormers) – 13 caps, 10 pts (2t)17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls) – 20 caps, 10 pts (2t)18 Thomas du Toit (Sharks) – 34 caps, 10 pts (2t)19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 74 caps, 25 pts (5t)20 Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)21 Cameron Hanekom (Bulls) – 3 caps, 5 pts (1t)22 Morne van den Berg (Lions) – 7 caps, 25 pts (5t)23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) – 21 caps, 177 pts (9t, 45c, 14p)SA Rugby media
Pollard back as Erasmus makes few changes for Bok team for second Test
Siya Kolisi bracketed alongside Paul de Villiers at flanker but has to come through training comfortably this week











