South Africa make nine changes for clash against New Zealand
Cobus Reinach returns at scrum half for South africa
©Steve Haag
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has made nine changes to the starting line up for the third round of the Rugby Championship clash against South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Handre Pollard continues to remain on the bench as Erasmus has opted for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fly-half while Kurt-Lee Arendse returns on the left wing joining Cheslin Kolbe.
Damian de Allende rejoins Jesse Kriel at midfield while Ox Nche joins Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe in the front row.
“We’ve no doubt they’ll (All Blacks) come out guns blazing. They’ll want to build winning momentum after bouncing back against Argentina following their disappointing opening game, and the rivalry between the Boks and All Blacks will motivate them even more,” Erasmus said.
“There is also no doubt they’ll still be hurting from the Rugby World Cup final, and in addition to that they know how important a win will be to square things up and open up the Castle Lager Rugby Championship log.
“They’re a quality team with several players who have an X-factor and they constantly pose a threat to our defence, so we have to start well and be on the top of our game in all departments to try to build on what we have done in the competition so far.”
South Africa XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard
