Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made a sweeping 13 changes to his starting XV, with Aphelele Fassi among the players brought into the team for the one-off Test against Australia in Perth on Sunday, September 27.
The changes come after the Springboks wrapped up their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand with a convincing 43-28 victory in Baltimore, securing a 3-1 series triumph.
Only lock Eben Etzebeth and winger Ethan Hooker have retained their starting positions from the team that defeated the All Blacks.
Fassi returns at fullback, with Edwill van der Merwe and Hooker completing the back three. Canan Moodie returns to the midfield alongside new captain André Esterhuizen.
Esterhuizen will lead the Springboks for the first time and becomes the 68th player to captain South Africa.
The changes also see the return of experienced flyhalf Handré Pollard, who has recovered from a calf injury. He will form a new halfback combination with scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies.
Jantjies will make his first Test start since November 2021.
Up front, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Zachary Porthen have been selected at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively, with Johan Grobbelaar starting at hooker.
Etzebeth will partner Franco Mostert in the second row, while Paul de Villiers, Elrigh Louw and Marco van Staden make up the loose-forward combination.
Erasmus said the wholesale changes were part of the team’s planning and player-management strategy after a demanding series against New Zealand.
“Australia poses a completely different threat to New Zealand in the way they play, so we believe these combinations would be best suited for the challenge that we will face against them,” Erasmus said.
The coach also backed Esterhuizen to handle the responsibility of leading the team.
He said the centre had previously captained the Sharks and had made a significant contribution to the Springbok squad both on and off the field.
The Wallabies will provide a different challenge for the world champions, with Erasmus noting that Australia have been enjoying a good run of form.
The Springboks will also be without experienced campaigners Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende, who were released from the squad to return home after a heavy workload during the recent Test programme.
Despite the changes, the Springboks have retained considerable experience in the match-day squad.
Jasper Wiese is set to earn his 50th Test cap after being named among the replacements, while Etzebeth will extend his record as South Africa’s most-capped player to 147 Tests.
Springboks starting XV
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 André Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Ox Nché, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Jasper Wiese, Morné van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn.
The Springboks will face Australia at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, September 27, in a one-off Test. Kick-off is scheduled for 11:45am South African time.
