Pollard At Pivot For Boks Against Ireland

Handre Pollard’s selection at flyhalf is one of eight changes to the Springbok team for the opening clash of the much-anticipated two-Test series against Ireland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Siya Kolisi will captain the team as he too was unavailable for the season-opening game against Wales at Twickenham 10 days ago, which South Africa won 41-13. Also back in the mix are Gerhard Steenekamp, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux. 

Bongi Mbonambi returns to the run-on side in place of Malcolm Marx, who features on a six-two forwards-backs split bench, while Kolisi’s return sees Kwagga Smith move from the side of the scrum to No. 8, with Evan Roos dropping out of the matchday 23.

Andre Esterhuizen and Makazole Mapimpi also miss out, with Damian de Allende joining Jesse Kriel in midfield and Arendse, Kolbe and Le Roux making up the back three. Another notable absentee is Manie Libbok, with the versatile Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu preferred as playmaker/utility back on the bench along with fellow backline replacement Grant Williams.

All in all, the side boast 20 World Cup winners – the entire starting 15 and five members of the bench. The only three players who didn’t feature in last year’s 12-11 World Cup final win over the All Blacks are Steenekamp, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Salmaan Moerat.

Fast facts:

• Only two players in the forward pack – Ox Nche and Kwagga Smith – have fewer than 69 Test caps.
• Only one player in the backline has fewer than 30 Test caps, namely Kurt-Lee Arendse.
• Willie le Roux needs only six Test caps after Saturday’s match to join the select club of Springbok centurions.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 966, the second most experienced team ever selected by South Africa after the 987-capped side for the World Cup final last year.
• There are 403 caps in the backline, with 563 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 182 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 57, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 22.

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.