Franco Mostert will start at lock in the only change to the Springbok starting side ahead of the clash against Argentina in Mendoza.
Mostert, who missed the recent game against the Pumas in Durban, will start at No 5 ahead of Pieter-Steph du Toit, who has been dropped to the bench. Coach Rassie Erasmus has made two further changes to the reserves, with prop Wilco Louw and lock RG Snyman coming into the squad.
‘Franco needed rest after Super Rugby and the June internationals and we, therefore, didn’t consider him for Durban,’ said Erasmus. ‘He’s been our first-choice No 5 lock and that’s why he is starting on Saturday.’
Erasmus kept his backline unchanged and also resisted the temptation to tweak his loose forward combination.
‘I want us to build more continuity and those combinations now have another opportunity to play together and gain more experience,’ he said.
‘We’ve always rated Argentina as a very physical team and we felt the game [in Durban] was physical. They’re going to step it up and I think they will come hard at our mauling, scrums and the breakdowns.’
The Springboks travel to Mendoza on Friday where they will conclude their match preparations.
Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Francois Louw, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Damian Willemse.
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
