Erasmus picks World Cup heavyweights for first Ireland Test

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a squad featuring 20 Rugby World Cup winners — the entire starting XV and five players on the bench — for their opening incoming series Test against Ireland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

The heavyweight clash involves not just the back-to-back world champions but also the top two ranked teams in the world.

The three players in the match day 23 who did not participate in last year's World Cup in France are prop Gerhard Steenekamp, lock Salmaan Moerat and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who are elevated to a selection featuring a six-two bench split in favour of the forwards.

Twelve of the starting XV for Saturday’s showdown (six forwards and six backs) started in the 12-11 World Cup final victory over New Zealand, with the other three (Willie le Roux, Kwagga Smith and Ox Nché) coming off the bench in that match in Paris.

The selection of previously unavailable players means the team shows eight changes to the one that beat Wales 41-13 in London 10 days ago. Erasmus has welcomed back captain Siya Kolisi, Le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handré Pollard, Marco van Staden, RG Snyman and Steenekamp.

“This is the team we believe will give us the impetus we need against Ireland, who are the second-highest ranked team in the world,” Erasmus said.

“We are blessed to have a lot of depth in our squad and we are in a fortunate position to have Rugby World Cup winners in our ranks who know what it takes to perform at the highest level and play against the best teams in the world.

“That most of these guys have played together is a bonus for us and most of them have faced Ireland before so they are aware of the challenge that lies ahead, especially since we haven’t beaten them since 2016.”

Erasmus said he was fortunate to be able to call on so much experience.

“It’s great to be in such a position and while it may serve as a mental boost, Ireland are a quality outfit and they’ll come out guns blazing. This is a new year for us with new systems in place, so while it helps that most of the players have won a World Cup or two, this is a fresh chapter for us.”

The Bok coach said he was excited to see what dimension Steenekamp, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Moerat can bring to his team. Steenekamp and Feinberg-Mngomezulu will play their second Test matches.

“Gerhard made a strong statement in the front row against Argentina in Buenos Aires last year and we were equally pleased with how easily Sacha slotted in and the contribution he made against Wales.

“Sacha, similarly to Grant [Williams], also offers us additional options in the backline, as he can cover flyhalf and centre, while Grant is efficient at scrumhalf and wing, which places us in a good position with the six-two split.

The second Test is at Kings Park in Durban on July 13.

Springbok XV:

15 — Willie le Roux (Bulls) — 93 caps, 75 points (15 tries)

14 — Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) — 31 caps, 91 points (14 tries, 3 conversions, 5 penalties)

13 — Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) — 67 caps, 80 points (16t)

12 — Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) — 78 caps, 55 points (11t)

11 — Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls) — 15 caps, 65 points (13t)

10 — Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) — 69 caps, 698 points (7t, 96c, 152p, 5 drop-goals)

9 — Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) — 56 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5pg)

8 — Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) — 41 caps, 35 pts (7t)

7 — Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) 78 caps, 40 points (8t)

6 — Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) — 83 caps, 50 points (10t)

5 — Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) — 74 caps, 15 points (3t)

4 — Eben Etzebeth (Sharks) — 120 caps, 30 points (6t)

3 — Frans Malherbe (Stormers) — 70 caps, 5 points (1t)

2 — Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks) — 69 caps, 70 points (14t)

1 — Ox Nché (Sharks) — 28 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 — Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) — 65 caps, 85 points (17t)

17 — Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls) — 1 cap, 0 points

18 — Vincent Koch (Sharks) — 50 caps, 5 points (1t)

19 — Salmaan Moerat (Stormers) — 4 caps, 0 points

20 — RG Snyman (Leinster) — 34 caps, 10 points (2t)

21 — Marco van Staden (Bulls) — 18 caps, 0 pts

22 — Grant Williams (Sharks) — 9 caps, 10 points (2t)

23 — Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) — 1 cap, 7 points (2c, 1p)