SOUTH AFRICA have made two changes to their forward pack for the Rugby Championship test against New Zealand on Saturday, while prop Jannie du Plessis has been given a few more days to prove his fitness ahead of the Dunedin clash.
The Springboks crumbled to a demoralising 26-19 loss against Australia in Perth last weekend and next face a Herculean task of trying to upset the undefeated All Blacks in their southern stronghold and get their tournament back on track.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer called up lock Flip van der Merwe in place of the suspended Eben Etzebeth when he named his squad yesterday. Etzebeth was banned for two weeks for head-butting Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe during Saturday’s loss.
Francois Louw has been promoted from the reserves in place of Marcell Coetzee at blindside flanker, a move seemingly aimed at nullifying All Blacks captain Richie McCaw’s ball-poaching at the breakdown.
“The New Zealanders are good on the ground which is why we decided to go for a specialist openside flank in Francois,” Meyer said in a media release. “Marcell has been very good this season and has played a lot of rugby, but in this match we feel he will be more useful as an impact option.”
Du Plessis has been given until tomorrow to shake off a hamstring injury and will be replaced by Pat Cilliers if he fails to recover.
After a home victory over newcomers Argentina and an away draw to the same opponents on the return leg, the Springboks faded badly in the second half against the Wallabies, prompting South African media to question fitness levels.
Former Leicester coach Meyer, who succeeded the controversial Peter de Villiers after their quarter-final exit at the World Cup, has injected fresh legs onto the bench, with lock Andries Bekker, prop Dean Greyling and versatile back Juan de Jongh all called up as replacements.
New Zealand followed up back-to-back victories over the Wallabies with a bruising win against the Pumas in Wellington last week. World Cup-winning scrumhalf Piri Weepu will make his first start for New Zealand this season after coach Steve Hansen made several changes to his team.
Weepu, who many consider lucky to make the All Blacks squad at all after he returned to Super Rugby overweight and unfit, has been used solely as a replacement this season behind rookie Aaron Smith but will start in Dunedin.
Smith has been preferred by Hansen due to his speed of pass that has given the All Blacks more space and time, but he struggled against a physical Argentina side last week in Wellington.
Weepu came on as a second-half replacement and his experience settled the All Blacks as they adopted a more conservative approach in atrocious conditions, going on to grind out a 21-5 win.
The scrumhalf was the only change to the backline but Hansen made three alterations to his pack, with Sam Whitelock replacing Brodie Retallick at lock, Liam Messam coming on to the blindside of the scrum for Victor Vito while hooker Andrew Hore replaces Keven Mealamu.
Retallick, Vito and Mealamu all drop to the bench for the match at Otago Stadium.
Meanwhile, Australia scrumhalf Will Genia has undergone a full reconstruction of his right knee after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament during the Wallabies win against South Africa. Genia’s expected recovery time is a minimum six months.
SOUTH AFRICA: Z Kirchner; B Habana, J de Villiers (captain), F Steyn, F Hougaard; M Steyn, R Pienaar, T Mtawarira, A Strauss, J du Plessis, F van der Merwe, J Kruger, F Louw, W Alberts, D Vermeulen. Replacements: T Liebenberg, D Greyling, A Bekker, M Coetzee, J Goosen, J de Jongh, P Lambie.
NEW ZEALAND: I Dagg; C Jane, C Smith, M Nonu, J Savea; A Cruden, P Weepu; T Woodcock, A Hore, O Franks, L Romano, S Whitelock, L Messam, R McCaw (capt), K Read. Replacements: K Mealamu, C Faumuina, B Retallick, V Vito, A Smith, B Barrett, T Ellison.
