Libbok Spearheads Bok Backline For England Showdown

Manie Libbok spearheads a completely overhauled Springbok backline from the one that started against Scotland for Saturday’s showdown with England at Twickenham.

Rassie Erasmus has made 12 changes to the team that triumphed 32-15 at Murrayfield last Sunday with only Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Eben Etzebeth retaining their places in the run-on side.

The whole new backline sees Grant Williams link up with Libbok to form an exciting halfback pairing, with Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel reuniting in midfield and Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe and Aphelele Fassi forming the back three.

Up front, Wilco Louw will play his first Test match since 2021, with RG Snyman getting a start in the second row and captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese making up the back row.

After opting for a 7-1 split bench last week, Erasmus has gone with a traditional 5-3 split this time. Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Elrigh Louw and Kwagga Smith (who earned his 50th Test cap last week) are the forward replacements, with the experienced trio of Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard and Lukhanyo Am providing backline cover.

The revamped side continues this season’s trend with Erasmus averaging 8,5 personnel changes per Test in the 11 selections he has made since the opening match against Wales in June.

The teams are 3-3 in their last six meetings, with the Boks edging the most recent clash 16-15. Fifteen players who featured for the Boks in that Rugby World Cup semi-final in France last year will do battle on Saturday.

Fast facts:

• Saturday’s match will be the Springboks’ 100th match on British and Irish soil since the first tour in 1906 – including matches in the two Rugby World Cups held on the islands. Of those 99 matches, 65 have been won and three drawn while 31 have been lost. The most wins (20) have come against Wales, while the most defeats have been suffered against England (11).
• Eben Etzebeth will extend his Springbok record as the most-capped player to 130 caps when he takes the field.
• Manie Libbok needs six points to become only the 30th of 944 Springboks to reach a century of points.
• South Africa will have scored 1 000 points in Tests against England if they score 12 or more points.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 767.
• There are 265 caps in the backline, with 502 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 359 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 37, the forwards 62, while the players on the bench average 44.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3  Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am.