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Milestone waiting and three new caps as Springboks change 11 for Italy
By Josh Raisey
Rassie Erasmus has made 11 changes to his South Africa side, including the entire backline, for their second Test against Italy on Saturday in Gqeberha.
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Off the back of their 42-24 win at Loftus Versfeld, Erasmus said he was “frustrated” at the performance, and hinted that the pre-planned rotation for the second Test could be scrapped.
He has, however, stuck to the original plan to make wholesale changes to the squad, with Willie le Roux starting in what will be his 100th match for the Boks in a side captained by lock Salmaan Moerat.
The bench has seen further changes, with Lions tighthead Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Bulls lock and brother of Jasper Wiese, Cobus, and Sharks centre Ethan Hooker all set to win their first Bok caps.
“Willie has been a stalwart for us in the last few years after making his debut against Italy in Durban in 2013, and he’s a fantastic playmaker, so we are thrilled to see him achieve this incredible feat,” Erasmus said on le Roux’s milestone.
“Only seven players in Springbok history have played 100 Tests before him, and to reach this milestone is testament to the player and team man that Willie is.
“Having come a long way with him during his career, I have no doubt that he’ll put the team before his own achievements this weekend, and as a team we would certainly like to make it a special and memorable occasion for him.”
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Springboks XV
15 Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 99 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 1 cap, 5 pts (1t)
13 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 12 caps, 25 pts (5t)
12 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 19 caps, 0 pts
11 Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 46 caps, 160 points (32t)
10 Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 19 caps, 98 pts (1t, 30c, 11p)
9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 17 caps, 20 pts (4t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 35 caps, 10 pts (2t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 86 caps, 60 pts (8t)
6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 26 caps, 20 pts (4t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 6 caps, 0 pts
4 Salmaan Moerat (captain, DHL Stormers) – 10 caps, 0 pts
3 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 17 caps, 0 pts
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 77 caps, 110 pts (22t)
1 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 23 caps, 5 pts (1t)
Replacements
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 5 pts (1t)
17 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 40 caps, 0 pts
18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions) – uncapped
19 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – uncapped
20 Evan Roos (DHL Stormers) – 7 caps, 0 pts
21 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 39 caps, 70 pts (14t)
22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 52 points (14c, 8p)
23 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped