Coach Rassie Erasmus has selected the most experienced Springboks matchday 23 by picking an unchanged side for the second Test against Ireland in Durban this weekend.
With a combined 990 caps, the Bok team that will do duty on Saturday, surpasses the previous combined caps total by three more.
“While it may be an impressive statistic,” said Erasmus via statement on Tuesday. “it will by no means guarantee us a victory. “We know we must go out there and play good rugby for the full 80 minutes to get the desired result.”
The Boks won the first Test 27-20 at Loftus this past week, and Erasmus hopes that keeping faith in the players that recorded that victory, will afford his side a level of consistency as they continue to grow a new attacking approach.
This includes trusting the less experienced players Gerhard Steenekamp, Salmaat Moerat, Grant Williams and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
“It’s always tough facing Ireland,” said the coach.
“They are a quality team, they are ranked second in the world, and as we saw last week, they never stop fighting, so we know the magnitude of the challenge that awaits us this weekend.
“We have no doubt they’ll come out even stronger this week, but we also identified the areas of the game that we need to improve on, and it’s vital for us to build on our performance in our quest to win both matches.”
Kick-off for teh Test on Saturday at Kings Park is 5.05pm.
FULL UPDATE TO FOLLOW.
Springbok starting XV v Ireland: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk; 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche; Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu