Springboks unchanged for All Black thriller

The Springbok team for Saturday’s clash against the All Blacks in Soweto has been announced, and the team remains unchanged from the one which beat Australia 31-8 last weekend.

The only change is on the bench, where Coenie Oosthuizen takes over from Pat Cilliers as prop replacement.

“It’s always a good thing if you don’t have to make any changes and after the late replacements we had to call in last week, it’s especially nice to be able to select an unchanged starting team for Saturday’s Test,” said Meyer.

“We’ve been hit hard by injuries this year, but thanks to the great work done by our medical team, we’ve managed to sort out a few of the little niggles left over from the Wallaby match for our final Test on home soil this year.

“Last week’s win was very satisfying, but we all know we will have to make another step up against New Zealand on Saturday. They recorded a good win in Argentina and will be confident, but so are we.”

The Springboks’ starting XV has a combined total of 430 Test caps – 162 to the forwards and 268 to the backs.

The Springbok team to face New Zealand in Soweto is:

15. Zane Kirchner (Vodacom Blue Bulls) 20 caps
14. Bryan Habana (DHL Western Province) 82 caps
13. Jaco Taute (MTN Golden Lions) 1 cap
12. Jean de Villiers (captain, DHL Western Province) 80 caps
11. Francois Hougaard (Vodacom Blue Bulls) 23 caps
10. Johan Goosen (Toyota FS Cheetahs) 3 caps
9. Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N-Ireland) 59 caps
8. Duane Vermeulen (DHL Western Province) 3 caps
7. Willem Alberts (The Sharks) 16 caps
6. Francois Louw (Bath, England) 13 caps
5. Andries Bekker (DHL Western Province) 28 caps
4. Eben Etzebeth (DHL Western Province) 7 caps
3. Jannie du Plessis (The Sharks) 38 caps
2. Adriaan Strauss (vice-captain, Toyota FS Cheetahs) 17 caps
1. Tendai Mtawarira (The Sharks) 40 caps

Replacements:

16. Tiaan Liebenberg (DHL Western Province) 4 caps
17. Coenie Oosthuizen (Toyota FS Cheetahs) 1 cap
18. Flip van der Merwe (Vodacom Blue Bulls) 19 caps
19. Marcell Coetzee (The Sharks) 8 caps
20. Elton Jantjies (MTN Golden Lions) 1 cap
21. Juan de Jongh (DHL Western Province) 11 caps
22. Pat Lambie (The Sharks) 16 caps