Duane Vermeulen will wear the Springbok No 7 jersey against England at Twickenham on Saturday, with Warren Whiteley starting at No 8.
As a result, Pieter-Steph du Toit, who played on the flank against the Wallabies in Port Elizabeth and All Blacks in Pretoria, moves back to the second row. He replaces Franco Mostert, who only joined up with his new English club, Gloucester, on Thursday and is not available for Saturday’s Test as it falls outside the international window.
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The other changes to the team that lost 32-30 at Loftus are in the backline, with scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl, wing S’bu Nkosi and fullback Damian Willemse replacing unavailable overseas-based trio Faf de Klerk, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux.
With Beast Mtawarira sidelined due to a neck injury, Thomas du Toit has been included on the bench, along with Lood de Jager, who will make his first Test appearance of the year if he comes on. André Esterhuizen is also among the substitutes, while Sikhumbuzo Notshe falls out of the match 23.
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‘England will be desperate to win this one at Twickenham and they will select a formidable side,’ said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus. ‘This match will be a huge tactical affair with much of the outcome depending on how you handle the set phases and kicking game.’
Springboks – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 André Esterhuizen.
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Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
