Advertisement
The Springboks have kept the team changes coming as they did say they would at the start of the 2025 Test season, selecting an uncapped front row, while Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi returns to face Georgia as captain in the one-off match at Nelspruit’s Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, 19th July.
This is only the third-ever meeting between the two sides, and the Boks have won both previous encounters, averaging 43 points scored in each win.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’s team features just five players who started last week, and only eight in total from the match-23 that beat Italy 45-0. There is still plenty of experience in the squad with 15 Rugby World Cup winners among the selected 23.
Erasmus said: “Building squad depth has been one of our pillars as a squad since 2018, and they are all undoubtedly ready to make the step-up.
We know how passionate and intense this Georgian side is, and they will be determined to make a strong statement, so we selected some experienced players who we would like to get more game time before the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, and a few of the younger players, who have put up their hands another run, so we are pleased with the balance we have in this group.”
The three front rowers set to earn their Springbok caps are Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe, and Neethling Fouche in the final Castle Lager Incoming Series match. Prop Fouche and hooker Van der Merwe both were involved in the 54-7 win over the Barbarians.
The Springboks have now handed out seven new caps in three tests, with Vincent Tshituka, Cobus Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, and Ethan Hooker having been capped against Italy.
Kolisi has made a recovery from an injury he picked up on the eve of the Barbarians match and will lead the team in green for the first time this season - the third Bok captain in as many Tests.
Erasmus said: “We wanted to make sure that Siya is 100% fit before selecting him, so it’s great to have him back in the squad.” Kolisi completes the back row alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cobus Wiese, with Jasper Wiese suspended for four matches. Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortje are in the second row.
Of Cobus Wiese starting at 8, Erasmus explained, “Evan Roos has eight or nine Test caps, but we also want to make sure that we’re building depth at No 8. We’ve lost Elrigh [Louw] and Ben-Jason [Dixon], Duane [Vermeulen] retired a couple of years ago, and now Jasper is out with a ban again.
So we want to see what a guy like Cobus can do at 8. The door is definitely not closed for anybody, but we’d like to see how Cobus goes. We have a good feeling – he’s another lineout option too.”
Erasmus has picked a particularly exciting backline for the fixture, but will need to hope his new look tight five can get the job done against a team usually known for having a solid scrum, although they lost last weekend to provincial side the Cheetahs in what was a shock loss.
Two-time scorer against Italy, Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Grant Williams, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Aphelele Fassi, and Damian de Allende make for a threatening backline with Williams pairing up with Feinberg-Mngomezulu at scrumhalf and flyhalf respectively.
Kurt-Lee Arendse needs five more points to score 100 Test points for the Springboks in only his 26th match.
The replacements bench includesThomas du Toit, Vincent Koch and Bongi Mbonambi as the impact front row, with RG Snyman (lock) and Kwagga Smith (loose forward) rounding out the forwards. Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Handre Pollard, and Damian Willemse provide backline cover.
Of the selections, the two-time Rugby World Cup-winning coach said, “We’re not dropping guys – we’re rotating,” he said. “We’ve got 46 players in the group, and some will leave after this game to prepare for the Rugby Championship. We’re trying to win now, but also build for the future.
Of the opposition, Erasmus explained, “Georgia is a tough outfit, and they pride themselves on their physicality and brute force in the collisions, so the set pieces, mauls, and breakdowns will be key areas.
They also have quality backline players to round off their team, so we need to be sharp in all the departments of our game to ensure that we continue to lift our standards, build momentum, and get the desired result.”
Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids added of their European opponents, “Every Test is important for us, and we never underestimate any team. We know what their DNA is. We played against them in 2021, so they will certainly bring their traditional physicality and give everything out there.
We’ve heard they want to play in the Six Nations, and they will see this match as a step in trying to achieve that. That said, we have our own standards, and we know where we want to be going into the Castle Lager Rugby Championship later in the season, so this is a massive game for us to try to improve and build on what we have achieved so far.”
In their last test outing, the Georgians lost to an understrength Irish side who were without their British & Irish Lions 33-5. This followed another season of the Lelos claiming yet another Rugby Europe Men’s Championship title (their 8th in a row).
Head Coach Richard Cockerill has selected nearly the same matchday 23 as the side that lost to Ireland.
One of the players earning a special milestone is 37-year-old winger Aleksander Todua, who will earn his 122nd cap for Georgia and will equal the record holder for the most appearances for the national team, Davit Kacharava, who is currently the president of the Rugby Union.
Elsewhere, there could be a first cap for lock Demur Efremidze if he comes on as a substitute on Saturday.
If Georgia manages to beat South Africa for the first time, and New Zealand win against France this weekend, the All Blacks will replace South Africa at the summit of the World Rugby rankings.
