South Africa name two debutants vs Wales as Koch hits half-century

Wing Edwill van der Merwe and fly-half Jordan Hendrikse will make their Test debuts when South Africa tackle Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

But Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has also selected several Rugby World Cup winners, with captain Pieter-Steph du Toit, lock Eben Etzebeth and scrum-half Faf de Klerk among those starting, while Vincent Koch wins his 50th cap at tight-head.

South Africa are without players from the Bulls due to their appearance in the United Rugby Championship final against Glasgow in Pretoria on Saturday, while star backs Cheslin Kolbe and Lukhanyo Am are absent because of injuries.

Erasmus, though, is still able to name a powerful starting line-up for their first game back since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in November, as the Springboks target a sixth victory in the last seven Tests against Wales.

“We knew what challenges we would face in selecting the squad for this training camp and the Wales Test, but as a team we turned it into a fantastic opportunity to blood a few youngsters and expose them to the national set-up,” Erasmus said.

“Building squad depth is one of our key pillars as a team, and this camp and Test match, as well as the one coming up against Portugal in Bloemfontein, will allow us to tick that box with an eye on the next few years.”

Team: A Fassi; E Van der Merwe, J Kriel, A Esterhuizen, M Mapimpi; J Hendrikse, F De Klerk; O Nche, M Marx, V Koch, E Etzebeth, F Mostert, K Smith, P-S du Toit (capt), E Roos.

Replacements: B Mbonambi, N Mchunu, F Malherbe, S Moerat, B-J Dixon, G Williams, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu, D De Allende.