The Springboks will return to FNB Stadium on Saturday for the first time in more than 10 years, with almost 88,000 supporters expected to watch their latest Test against New Zealand.
South Africa’s previous match at the iconic Johannesburg venue came on 6 October 2012, when the All Blacks recorded a convincing 32-16 victory. Much has changed since that meeting, with only one player from the current squad having featured in the Springboks’ team that day.
That player is Eben Etzebeth, now South Africa’s most capped international. He was a 20-year-old lock making only his eighth Test appearance when he started against New Zealand in 2012.
The Springboks side selected for that match was:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Pat Lambie, 22 Juan de Jongh.
Saturday’s Test at FNB Stadium will begin at 17:10. The current Springboks starting XV has a combined total of 958 Test caps.
The backline accounts for 366 of those appearances, while the forwards have accumulated 592 caps. There are another 222 Test appearances among the replacements.
South Africa’s starting team is:
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Substitutes: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Manie Libbok.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus said the squad was looking forward to playing in front of the expected crowd, while stressing the importance of controlling the match against the All Blacks.
“We are excited that we will be playing at the FNB stadium, where on a good day there is an 80 000 strong crowd, and that will be a new and exciting experience for our players because most of these players have never ran onto the field there, and the support we enjoy there will add to the occasion,” Erasmus commented.
“With the vuvuzelas and passionate crowd there, we can hardly hear one another on the field, so we are all thrilled about this occasion. But make no mistake, this is going to be another intense battle between the two top teams in the world who are both looking to get an edge in the series, so we know what we have to do, and composure and accuracy are going to be vital for both sides.”
South Africa have played New Zealand 112 times, winning 44 matches, losing 64 and drawing four. The Springboks have scored 1,899 points and conceded 2,328, with 185 tries scored and 257 tries conceded. Their winning percentage in the fixture is 39.2%.
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