Etzebeth cleared to play and Erasmus shuffles pack

By Will Toogood

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has been given the green light to face the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

Etzebeth, who was initially sidelined with kinee injury concerns, has now been named on the replacements bench for the Rugby Championship showdown by head coach Rassie Erasmus.

Erasmus’ call means Etzebeth steps in for Marco van Staden, who drops out of the matchday squad, with Etzebeth providing specialist lock cover alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje in the starting lineup.

Should he get game time, the test will mark Etzebeth’s 125th in the green and gold jersey, which will see him move ahead of Bryan Habana as the second-most capped Springbok of all time and take one step closer to Victor Matfield’s South African test record of 127 caps.

“Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco,” said Erasmus.

“There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team.

“We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what’s best for the team, and it’s admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is.”

Springboks team to face All Blacks in Johannesburg:

15 – Aphelele Fassi – 6 caps
14 – Cheslin Kolbe – 35 caps
13 – Jesse Kriel – 73 caps
12 – Damian de Allende – 82 caps
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse - 19 caps
10 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 6 caps
9 – Cobus Reinach – 34 caps
8 – Jasper Wiese – 27 caps
7 – Ben-Jason Dixon – 3 caps
6 – Siya Kolisi (Captain) – 86 caps
5 – Ruan Nortje – 2 caps
4 – Pieter-Steph du Toit – 81 caps
3 – Frans Malherbe – 73 caps
2 – Bongi Mbonambi – 72 caps
1 – Ox Nche – 33 caps

Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx – 69 caps
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp – 4 caps
18 – Vincent Koch – 54 caps
19 – Eben Etzebeth – 124 caps
20 – Elrigh Louw – 6 caps
21 – Kwagga Smith – 45 caps
22 – Grant Williams – 13 caps
23 – Handre Pollard – 73 caps

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission