Springbok loose forward Kwagga Smith will earn his 50th Test cap on Sunday when South Africa line up against Scotland at Murrayfield in their opening end-of-year tour clash on Sunday.
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Locks Franco Mostert and RG Snyman return to the green and gold jumper after long spells on the sidelines due to injury in a strong team named by national coach Rassie Erasmus, who named Eben Etzebeth as captain with Siya Kolisi starting on the bench.
The 31-year-old Smith, who made his Springbok debut against Wales in Washington in 2018 and went on to win two Rugby World Cup winner’s medals, will start at No 8 as he celebrates this significant career milestone.
7/1 bench split
Mostert returns to the team for the first time since recovering from the broken leg he suffered against Ireland in the Incoming Series and Snyman is fully fit after a foot injury sustained in Australia in the build-up to the first Test against the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship, which ruled him out of the team’s triumphant campaign.
Erasmus opted for a split of seven forwards and one back on the replacements’ bench and made 11 changes to the starting team that defeated Argentina in their closing Rugby Championship clash in Nelspruit in September.
Fourteen players in the match-day squad featured in the match against the Pumas.
There are 12 survivors in the 23 from the squad that last faced Scotland (in the pool stages of last year’s Rugby World Cup) – Mostert, Snyman, Etzebeth (lock), Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi (both hookers), Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden (all flankers), Jasper Wiese (No 8), Ox Nche (prop), Grant Williams (utility back) and Willie le Roux (fullback).
Smith starts his 50th match in a loose trio with Elrigh Louw and Van Staden, while Mostert joins forces with Etzebeth, SA’s most capped player of all time, in the engine room, where he will extend his record to 129 Test matches.
The team features a completely new backline to the triumphant Rugby Championship match-day team in Nelspruit, with the only back retaining his place in the starting team being scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse.
Veteran fullback Willie le Roux will take one more step toward reaching the exclusive group of Springbok centurions when he runs on at fullback in what will be his 98th Test match, while Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie have been named as the wings, outside the midfield duo of Andre Esterhuizen and Lukhanyo Am.
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Hendrikse, meanwhile, will partner with the experienced Handre Pollard in an exciting halfback pairing.
Erasmus loaded his bench with experience with the seven forwards being the front row of Marx, Vincent Koch and Gerhard Steenekamp, with Snyman providing lock cover and Kolisi, Du Toit and Wiese set to give the team a boost at loose forward.
Williams, in turn, who provides cover at scrumhalf and wing, is the only backline player among the replacements.
“This is a seasoned and quality team and adding to that 21 of the 23 players have won a Rugby World Cup title, with some having won two, so they know what it takes to perform at this level,” said Erasmus.
“Many of these combinations have also played together this season either during the Incoming Series and Rugby Championship, or both, which will be valuable against a quality team such as Scotland.
“We are expecting an extremely physical match, so we opted for a seven-one split of forwards on the bench, and this was aided by the fact that we have such versatile players in the backline, who can cover different positions if necessary.”
Commenting on Smith playing his 50th Test Erasmus said: “Kwagga is a vastly talented player and a fantastic team member, and I’m delighted to see him reach this big career milestone. It takes a special player who performs consistently well over a few years to reach this achievement, and Kwagga has certainly done so while maintaining the same high standards at training and on the field. We are very proud of him.”
Erasmus forecast another fierce battle with the Scots: “They are ranked seventh in the world and they’re a team that never stop fighting. They also have top quality players in their squad, we know it’s going to be an epic battle.
“In the Rugby World Cup last year, we were only three points up against them at half-time, and with the new dynamic they have brought to their game, we know it’s going to be an 80-minute battle.
“They’ll also have a passionate and vocal home crowd behind them, and we know what energy that brings to our team when we play at home, so that will boost them even more going into the match.”
The game kicks off at 18:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Prediction
Springboks by 13 points
TEAMS
Scotland
15 Tom Jordan, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 22 Jasper Wiese, 23 Grant Williams
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Who wins on Sunday – and by how many?
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