Jacques Nienaber has retained a core of the Springboks’ World Cup winning side in his first Test as head coach, and their first outing since beating England 32-12 in the final in November 2019, when they host Georgia in Pretoria on Friday.
The former Munster defence coach, who has moved from that role with the Boks in succeeding Rassie Erasmus, has named 18 Rugby World Cup winners in his match-day squad - 12 of whom featured against England.
Six of these 12 players will start against Georgia. They are Boks captain Siya Kolisi and his loose forward partner Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth (lock), Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Willie le Roux (fullback) and Handre Pollard (flyhalf).
The other players who featured in the grand finale of the World Cup are Frans Steyn (centre), Franco Mostert (lock), Malcolm Marx (hooker), Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe (both props) and Herschel Jantjies (scrumhalf).
There are two debutants on the wings in Rosko Specman and Aphelele Fassi while Leicester’s Jasper Wiese is in line to make his Bok debut off the bench.
“We have selected the best team with an eye on what we would like to achieve in this Test against Georgia and we believe that we have a good balance with a number of experienced campaigners and a few young players who have made a strong statement this season,” said Nienaber.
“Most of the players in this squad are Rugby World Cup winners, while others have been part of the national squad for a few seasons, and this will be invaluable against a team that boast the passion that Georgia exhibit.
“We are also excited to see what the uncapped players bring to the table after impressive performances for their franchises in the last few seasons. Each one of them has proved that they deserve an opportunity at this level, and the commitment and enthusiasm they displayed at training has been striking.”
Nienaber was excited to return to the field after a 19-month absence from international rugby and said the physical challenge they would face against Georgia was exactly what they needed to prepare themselves mentally and physically as they look forward to the Lions series.
“We are expecting Georgia to come out guns blazing with their passionate and physical rugby, so we need to find our rhythm early on and build up a good 80-minute performance,” said Nienaber.
“We know how big this challenge will be, but it is vital that we build a solid foundation in the next two Tests in order to refine our skill set, match readiness and ability to perform under pressure.”
South Africa: Willie le Roux; Rosko Specman, Jesse Kriel, Frans Steyn, Aphelele Fassi; Handre Pollard, Kobus Reinach; Ox Noche, Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane; Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert; Siya Kolisi (capt), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith. Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie, Jasper Wiese, Herschel Jantjies, Elton Jantjies, Damian Willemse.
