Siya Kolisi back to face Georgia with Boks set to hand out 3 new caps

Siya Kolisi will make his first appearance for South Africa in 2025 against Georgia in Mbombela on Saturday after overcoming a neck injury.

The flanker will lead a Springboks side that has seen 15 changes from the squad that triumphed over Italy 45-0 last week.

Yet more new caps will be awarded this July, with head coach Rassie Erasmus naming a completely uncapped front-row comprising Edinburgh loosehead Boan Venter, Scarlets hooker Marnus van der Merwe and Stormers tighthead Neethling Fouche.

Having started on the bench last week for his first cap, Cobus Wiese will make his starting debut at No.8, replacing his brother, Jasper, following his ban.

Fixture

Internationals

South Africa

55 - 10

Full-time

Georgia

All Stats and Data

Looking ahead to the match, Erasmus said: “Georgia are a tough outfit, and they pride themselves on their physicality and brute force in the collisions, so the set pieces, mauls, and breakdowns will be key areas.

“They also have quality backline players to round off their team, so we need to be sharp in all the departments of our game to ensure that we continue to lift our standards, build momentum, and get the desired result.”

On the debutants, he said: “Boan, Marnus, and Neethling have been training hard and deserve their chance.

“Marnus and Neethling played against the Barbarians, so they have an idea of what international rugby is about, while Boan has shown great potential at club level and with the squad in the last few weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing him play.

“Building squad depth has been one of our pillars as a squad since 2018, and they are all undoubtedly ready to make the step-up.”

Springboks XV
15 – Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 11 caps, 35 points (7t)
14 – Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 2 caps, 15 pts (3t)
13 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 13 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 88 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 95 points (19t)
10 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 9 caps, 52 points (14c, 8p)
9 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 17 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 – Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 1 cap, 0 pts
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 87 caps, 40 pts (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 92 caps, 60 points (12t)
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 7 caps, 0 pts
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 132 caps, 35 points (7t)
3 – Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers) – uncapped
2 – Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets) – uncapped
1 – Boan Venter (Edinburgh) – uncapped

Replacements
16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 78 caps, 70 points (14t)
17 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 62 caps, 5 points (1t)
19 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 41 caps, 10 points (2t)
20 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 52 caps, 45 points (9t)
21 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 59 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5p)
22 – Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 81 caps, 784 points (7t, 115c, 168p, 5dg)
23 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 40 caps, 56 points (4t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)