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Bok greats pick best XV to face Ireland with 8 changes from Wales win
By Josh Raisey
South Africa got their 2024 underway with a 41-13 win over a depleted Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, but it was not a match where they were at their dominant best.
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The contest served as the perfect opportunity for the world champions to gel in their first match since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in October and prepare for a much sterner test against Ireland in July.
The Springboks will host the world number twos and reigning Six Nations champions in Pretoria and Durban in one of the most eagerly anticipated series in a long time.
World Cup winners Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger joined Hanyani Shimange on the latest episode of RugbyPass TV’s The Boks Office podcast to dissect the victory over Warren Gatland’s side and look ahead to the visit from Ireland.
Rassie Erasmus fielded a fairly experimental side in London, particularly in the back line, and de Villiers and Burger discussed which players will remain in the starting XV for the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on July 6.
The pair expect eight changes from the side that were victorious at Twickenham, five of which are in the back line.
The two players to keep hold of their position among the backs are scrum-half Faf de Klerk and outside centre Jesse Kriel, with de Villiers saying “to make it easier for you, the back line is the World Cup final back line.”
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The area of contention was at inside centre, where the pair just favoured Damian de Allende over Andre Esterhuizen.
“It’s a toss-up between [Esterhuizen] and Damian,” Burger said. “We’ve always seen when it’s between these two, we go for Damian.”
De Villiers added: “Andre Esterhuizen’s opportunities were so limited on Saturday, what do you base it on? Damian has done nothing wrong, he brought great energy when he came on, he’s a World Cup winner, you stick with that.”
In the pack, Shimange picked the front row, predicting two changes, with Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe starting ahead of Malcolm Marx and Vincent Koch, with Ox Nche retaining the No1 jersey. He would deploy Marx, Thomas du Toit and Kock from the bench though, with Burger pointing out “it’s irrelevant nowadays who starts because they only play 40 minutes.”
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The real debate came when choosing who should start at No8, with de Villiers suggesting Kwagga Smith should shift from the flank to the back of the scrum. Burger was less convinced though, and leaned towards retaining Evan Roos at No8, highlighting Smith’s impact from the bench at altitude.
“Kwagga is never going to disappoint you whenever he starts or comes off the bench,” the former flanker said.
“But I think against Ireland at Highveld, he can be destructive coming off the bench. Especially if they’re chasing the game, we’ve seen him do it in the past, he is a machine. No8 is the one I’m not too sure of.”
De Villiers replied: “I think Evan can do that off the bench as well.”
With less than a week before the squad is named, we wait to see how much Erasmus’ team will differ from this one.
South Africa XV versus Wales
15. Aphelele Fassi
14. Edwill van der Merwe
13. Jesse Kriel
12. Andre Esterhuizen
11. Makazole Mapimpi
10. Jordan Hendrikse
9. Faf de Klerk
1. Ox Nche
2. Malcolm Marx
3. Vincent Koch
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Franco Mostert
6. Kwagga Smith
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit
8. Evan Roos
The Boks Office’s South Africa XV versus Ireland
15. Willie le Roux
14. Cheslin Kolbe
13. Jesse Kriel
12. Damian de Allende
11. Kurt-Lee Arendse
10. Handre Pollard
9. Faf de Klerk
1. Ox Nche
2. Bongi Mbonambi
3. Frans Malherbe
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Franco Mostert
6. Siya Kolisi
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit
8. Kwagga Smith (de Villiers) Evan Roos (Burger)
