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Kolisi will captain Springboks with added experience in starting line-up against All Blacks

Ashfak Mohamed|Published

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi chats with Handré Pollard and Damian de Allende during practice. File Picture: Chris Ricco, BackpagePix

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has been cleared to play, while the experienced Willie le Roux and Handré Pollard are back in the starting line-up for Saturday’s massive Rugby Championship showdown with the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium (5pm start).

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus made seven changes, including two positional switches, on Thursday morning as he again tinkered with the match-23 from last week’s 31-27 victory over New Zealand at Ellis Park.

Kolisi took a blow to the cheek in a tackle from All Black flank Sam Cane, but has recovered sufficiently and participated in training sessions this week to run out in front on Saturday.

Le Roux gets a recall in place of Aphelele Fassi, who had another excellent performance in Johannesburg, while Canan Moodie has been brought in at right wing for the concussed Kurt-Lee Arendse, with Cheslin Kolbe shifting to left wing.

Pollard resumes the flyhalf duties from young pivot Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has been a revelation in the No.10 jersey this season.

Grant Williams gets a well-deserved start at scrumhalf after a number of impressive cameos off the bench, while the few changes upfront sees Pieter-Steph du Toit restored to blindside flank in place of Ben-Jason Dixon, while Eben Etzebeth is back at No.4 after playing off the bench last week.

On the bench, Jaden Hendrikse comes in as scrumhalf cover in a five-three split in favour of the forwards.

“Siya is a world-class player and captain, and he adds immense value to the team with the way he leads by example and galvanises the team when the pressure is on,” Erasmus said on Thursday.

“Similarly to the call we made with Eben last week, our team policy is that if a player trains on a Monday and gets through training during the week pain free, they can be selected for the weekend, and Siya did just that.

“Honesty from the players about whether they can play and deliver fully on what we expect from them is a key part of our team culture, so have full faith in Siya to give everything on the field.

“This match is going to massive. New Zealand are a world-class outfit, and we know that they’ll be desperate to bounce back after leading in the second half last week.

“They’ll also be fully aware of the fact that a victory could give them a huge boost on the Rugby Championship standings, and they’ll be playing to retain the Freedom Cup, which they’ve held since 2010. It’s going to be another epic encounter.

“They’re a quality team with a lot of pace and several players who have a great X-factor.

“We also saw last week what they can do if they get a strong start, while they have proven time and time again that they are a team that can close out games under a lot of pressure in the last 20 minutes, so it’s going to take a huge team effort to register a victory against them.”

Dixon and Steven Kitshoff have been sent back to the Western Province team for Currie Cup duty, and the same applies to Sharks wing Makazole Mapimpi.

Springbok Team

15 Willie le Roux 14 Canan Moodie 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Cheslin Kolbe 10 Handré Pollard 9 Grant Williams 8 Jasper Wiese 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 Ruan Nortjé 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Ox Nche.

Bench: 16 Malcolm Marx 17 Gerhard Steenekamp 18 Vincent Koch 19 Kwagga Smith 20 Elrigh Louw 21 Jaden Hendrikse 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 23 Lukhanyo Am.

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