Siya Kolisi missed the Springboks’ season-opener against the Barbarians, and although it was thought that he would be ready to face Italy this Saturday, it has been confirmed that the 34-year-old will miss the clash at Loftus.
Kolisi has been ruled out with injury, and the team will be led by Jesse Kriel in his absence, while Marco van Staden will start at openside flank.
Commenting on Kolisi’s injury, Erasmus said: “Siya unfortunately picked up a niggle, but Marco did a good job at flanker last week and he is one of the core players in our team, so we are blessed to have such depth in the squad.”
Erasmus added: “If one goes through this team, there are so many leaders, and we were impressed with how Jesse accepted the responsibility of wearing the captain’s armband last week. He is a player who leads by example on and off the field, and he thoroughly deserves this honour.”
Erasmus opted for largely the same backline that played against the Barbarians, with the only new players being Rugby World Cup winners Damian Willemse at fullback and Handre Pollard at flyhalf, where the latter will pair up with exciting scrumhalf Morne van den Berg.
There are three personnel changes in the forward pack, with Jasper Wiese replacing Jean-Luc du Preez, whose wife is expecting a child, while Eben Etzebeth takes over from the injured Jean Kleyn in the engine room, and Wilco Louw will start at tighthead prop in a front row with Ox Nche and Malcolm Marx.
Springbok team to face Italy without Siya Kolisi:
15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 39 caps, 56 points (4t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)
14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 40 caps, 111 points (18t, 3c, 5p)
13 Jesse Kriel (captain, Canon Eagles) – 79 caps, 90 points (18t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 87 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 24 caps, 90 points (18t)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 80 caps, 772 points (7t, 109c, 168p, 5dg)
9 Morne van den Berg (Emirates Lions) – 2 caps, 0 points
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 34 caps, 10 points (2t)
7 Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped
6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 10 points (2t)
5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 66 caps, 25 points (5t)
4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 131 caps, 35 points (7t)
3 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps, 0 points
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 76 caps, 105 points (21t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 39 caps, 0 points
Replacements:
16 Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 77 caps, 70 points (14t)
17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 5 points (1t)
18 Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 61 caps, 0 points
19 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 40 caps, 10 points (2t)
20 Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 78 caps, 20 points (4t)
21 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 51 caps, 45 points (9t)
22 Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 58 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5p)
23 Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 98 caps, 75 points (15t)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against Italy:
Played 16; Won 15; Lost 1; Points for: 764, Points against: 195; Tries scored 102, Tries conceded 16; Highest score 101-0; Biggest win 101 points. Win % 94%.
What is your score prediction?
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