The South African rugby union head coach, Rassie Erasmus, has named a completely new 23-man squad to face Australia in the second test of the Rugby Championship in Perth on Saturday.
Following a stunning 33-7 victory over the Wallabies in the first test in Brisbane on Saturday morning, Rassie dropped captain Siya Kolisi and selected 26-year-old Salmaan Moerat as Boks captain for the second time. Erasmus made ten changes to the squad that faced Australia in the first test.
Erasmus justified his roster changes by stating that they are intended to test and assess the young players as they prepare for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
“We have a group of about 45 players that are part of our wider squad this season and we’ve seen what most of these players can do,” said Boks gaffer.
“We have full faith in the younger generation of players coming through, and we feel this is the right time to Test them against an Australian outfit that will be desperate to bounce back strongly from last weekend.”
Ten Wholesale Changes.
Only five players retained their roster spots from last weekend’s first test in Brisbane. Sacha Freinbeg-Mngomezulu, Chelsin Kolbe, and Jesse Kriel all kept their respective positions, as did Elrigh Louw and Peter-Steph du Toit at the back.
Rassie’s 23-man squad includes Aphelele Fassi, who replaces Willie Le Roux at fullback, and Lukhanyo Am, who replaces Damian de Allende as inside centre. Other new changes include Makazole Mapimpi, Morne van den Berg, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat, Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobbelaar, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Springboks team to face Wallabies
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Handré Pollard
We need fresh players and I am happy that Lukhanyo Am starts. Go Bokke!!!