Springbok centre Damian de Allende will become the 10th player in history to earn 100 Test caps for South Africa when the Boks meet the All Blacks in the opening game of the inaugural Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The team named for the RGR opener at 10bet Ellis Park shows a mix of continuity in selection from the Test against Argentina and a host of players who remained behind in South Africa.
The majority of the players named in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ starting team – including captain Pieter-Steph du Toit – began their preparations for the series in Johannesburg last week as the rest of the squad travelled to Argentina for the clash against Los Pumas.
The only two players who retain their places in the starting XV from the Argentina Test – which the Boks won 17-10 – are Eben Etzebeth (lock) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (flyhalf). A further seven players from the clash in Buenos Aires – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marco van Staden, Cobus Wiese (all utility forwards), Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen (both props), Andre Esterhuizen (flanker and centre), and Cobus Reinach (scrumhalf) – have been included on the bench.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu will join forces with Grant Williams at halfback, while wings Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse (fullback) form the back trio. Completing the quality backline are the record-breaking centre pairing of De Allende and Jesse Kriel.
Ox Nche makes a welcome return from injury and will partner up with Wilco Louw and Malcolm Marx in the front row, while Etzebeth will reunite with Ruan Nortje in the engine room, and Paul de Villiers, Du Toit, and Jasper Wiese have been named as the loose trio.
Erasmus retained the same replacement front row from two weeks ago of Wessels, Steenekamp and Porthen, with Cobus Wiese, Van Staden, and Esterhuizen also providing forward cover, while the two specialist backs are Reinach and flyhalf Manie Libbok.
“The All Blacks are a quality team, and we selected combinations we think would be best suited for the challenge this weekend,” said Erasmus.
“The squad is well balanced with players who remained in South Africa to train for this series and some of the players who featured against Argentina.
“It certainly helped to have some players return from injury last week and to get back into top-flight Test rugby, while some of the others who had a heavy workload in the Nations Championship had sufficient time to recover from the physical toll on them.
“The whole group has now been together for over a week, and we are all aligned regarding the way we want to play this weekend.”
Commenting on the omission of Kolisi, the regular Springbok flanker and captain, Erasmus said: “Siya trained well with us this week, and although we could have selected him for this clash, we thought it would be best to select Paul (de Villiers) for this weekend’s game.
“We are playing four Tests against the All Blacks and Paul has been playing well, so we are excited to give him a chance this weekend in what will be his first Test match against New Zealand, while taking a precautionary approach to Siya’s return.
“We have a solid group of players, and each one of them deserves their places in the squad, so we will approach team selection week by week.”
Erasmus was delighted for De Allende’s significant milestone of earning his Test century.
“We are all very excited for Damian, and to achieve this milestone in this series makes it even more special,” said Erasmus.
“He’s a great team man, and servant to the game, so we hope we can make it a memorable day for him. That said, his focus all week has only been on this match, and he will certainly not let the occasion shadow what he has to do on the field.”
The Bok coach expected another epic encounter against the All Blacks: “They are a quality team and they’re very well coached, so we are preparing for an 80-minute grind. They have a well-rounded squad with physical forwards and an exciting backline, so we have to be sharp and accurate in our execution from the outset.
“Many of the matches between the sides have come down to the wire, so it’s important that we use the chances we create and ensure that our discipline is on point. It’s going to be a big battle, but the entire squad is excited about the match and are looking forward to it.”
The match kicks off at 17h10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Springbok team to face New Zealand in Johannesburg:
15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 52 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
14 Cheslin Kolbe (DHL Stormers) – 50 caps, 131 pts (22t, 3c, 5p)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 90 caps, 115 pts (23t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 99 caps, 55 pts (11t)
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 32 caps, 125 pts (25t)
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 20 caps, 177 pts (9t, 45c, 14p)
9 Grant Williams (Kobe Steelers) – 30 caps, 40 pts (8t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 46 caps, 20 pts (4t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 98 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 3 cap, 5 pts (1t)
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) – 20 caps, 5 pts (1t)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 142 caps, 45 pts (9t)
3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 31 caps, 10 pts (2t)
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 89 caps, 135 pts (27t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 48 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 13 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers) – 6 caps, 5 pts (1t)
19 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 5 caps, 0 pts
20 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 31 caps, 25 pts (5t)
21 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 36 caps, 20 pts (4t)
22 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 53 caps, 100 pts (20t)
23 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 30 caps, 147 pts (2t, 49c, 13p)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 110, Won: 43, Lost: 63, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 850; Points against: 2 269; Tries scored: 181; Tries conceded: 248. Win %: 39%.
Miscellaneous:
- Damian de Allende will become only the 10th player in Springbok history to feature in 100 Tests on Saturday after making his international debut against Argentina in 2014.
- Pieter-Steph du Toit, who will lead the team in his fourth Test this season, requires only one more appearance after this match to join the exclusive club of Springbok centurions, with the flanker running out in his 99th Test match this weekend.
- Prop Ox Nche will feature in his 49th Test match, leaving him only one match short of earning 50 Test matches, while Jasper Wiese requires only three more Test caps to earn his 50th cap.
- Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok player of all time to 143 caps when he takes the field.
- Manie Libbok requires only three more points to earn 150 international points.
- The Castle Lager Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series marks the first time since 1996 that the All Blacks have embarked on a traditional rugby tour to South Africa.
- The last time the Springboks met the All Blacks in Johannesburg was in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in 2024, with the Boks winning that match by 31-27.
- The Springboks have won five of the last six matches between the teams dating back to August 2023, which included the Rugby World Cup final in France that same year.
- The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up is 850. There are 373 caps in the backline, with 477 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 193 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 53, the forwards 60, while the players on the bench average 24.
Knuckles
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On the morning of 11/11/11 South Africa needed 111 runs to win at 11:11 – South Africa vs Australia. This coincidence occurred during the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Cape Town. At 11:11, on 11/11/11, South Africa were 125 for 1 needing a further 111 runs for a win.