Springboks go bold in the front row for Perth Test

Though the Springboks will start with the same front row that did duty against Portugal, their selections for Saturday’s clash against the Wallabies are bold in the context of the Rugby Championship.

Only one starting Bok front-rower has gone into a Rugby Championship Test with fewer caps. Ox Nche, Joseph Dweba and Wilco Louw packed down with 16 collective caps against Argentina in Gqeberha in 2021.

On Saturday, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Thomas du Toit will crouch shoulder to shoulder having played in just 21 Tests collectively. Grobbelaar and Wessels have played a Test each.

The trio, as you would expect, flexed their muscle against the then world’s 15th-ranked team but their assignment is a little trickier this weekend.

The Boks will be aiming for the same set piece dominance that helped paved the way to a resounding victory in Brisbane. Reassuringly, the Boks will have the much decorated Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Vincent Koch as part of their cavalry.

The Bok tight five have only 30 caps between them.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus was at pains to point out that despite making 10 changes his team contains 14 Rugby World Cup winners. The bench are entirely made up of players garlanded with a golden medal at the Stade de France last year.

While Wessels and Grobbelaar are at the start of their Test careers, Du Toit is keen to re-establish himself in the team. He made his Bok return against Portugal in Bloemfontein last month having previously played against Argentina on the cusp of last year’s World Cup.

Having made his debut in 2018, it will only be his second Test against Australia.

Class act

In the back division, Lukhanyo Am is also hoping to cement himself back in the Bok firmament. The length of his absence from the squad mirrored that of Du Toit.

Upon his return he helped the World Champions run amok in attack, while organising and standing firm in defence against Portugal. Am is a class act but this time he will have to prove himself at inside centre against a tier one team.

After 36 Tests this will be his first start at inside centre but he will be doing so next to Jesse Kriel. Erasmus explained that Damian de Allende needed a rest.

“With the physical way he plays we can’t expect him to play 14 Tests in a row. Handré [Pollard] will at some point slot in at 12,” said the coach about one of the three backs he has on the bench.

Fullback Aphelele Fassi is set for his sixth Test, only his second in the Rugby Championship. Damian Willemse and Willie le Roux are ahead of him in the Bok queue but Fassi appears to be restoring his international credentials.

Due to the emergence of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Makazole Mapimpi, who is starting on Saturday, is no longer the first-choice pick on the left wing but his try-scoring hunger remains undiminished. Having gone tryless in six consecutive Tests, Mapimpi has scored eight in his last half-a-dozen Bok appearances.

Lock Ruan Nortje was hoping to get his Test career back on track but a knee injury last week robbed him of that chance when a rare opportunity presented itself. He gets a crack this weekend next to captain Salmaan Moerat.

Erasmus said flank Ben-Jason Dixon had a niggle that precluded his inclusion, while prop Frans Malherbe and Bongi Mbonambi have small ailments.

Springboks to play Australia in Perth: Aphelele Fassi; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg; Elrigh Louw, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden; Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat; Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Kwagga Smith; Grant Williams, Manie Libbok, Handré Pollard.