Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber says he’s looking forward to seeing the chemistry between Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant when the duo start against Australia in their away leg of the Rugby Championship.
Cape Town – Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber says he’s looking forward to seeing the chemistry between Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant when the duo start against Australia in their away leg of the Rugby Championship.
Gelant, taking over from Jesse Kriel, and Faf de Klerk, in for Jaden Hendrikse, are the only two changes to the starting XV that lost to New Zealand at Ellis Park. De Klerk has completed his return-to-play protocols after taking a knock in their campaign-opener at Mbombela Stadium.
In a breakaway from the six-two split, the team also features three changes to the bench, with Hendrikse taking over from Herschel Jantjies and Elton Jantjies providing flyhalf cover, while utility back Frans Steyn is also in the mix.
Speaking during the team announcement press conference on Monday, Nienaber explained his selections for the Adelaide Test and why he went for Gelant at No.14.
The Boks are currently without Cheslin Kolbe (broken jaw), Kurt-Lee Arendse (suspension) and Kriel (concussion).
The other options to stop the gap at wing would have been keeping the rejigged backline from last week when Kriel left the field – with Lukhanyo Am at 14, Damian de Allende at 13, Willemse at 12 and Willie le Roux at 15 – or giving Bulls youngster Canan Moodie a go.
“Warrick is in for Jesse and then Faf is back, his return-to-play is finished. The reason for the split is that we feel we will need that tactically against Australia,” he said.
“It’s a nice opportunity for Warrick, he has been part of us for quite some time and he has played at wing for us before, I think it was against Canada.
“He knows our systems, and with the bad luck we’ve had at wing, it’s great to have him at 14 and him and Gaza (Willemse) know each other well.
“Gaza has been performing well at 15 and he’s almost making that position his own. From a tactical point of view, there’s not a big difference between 15 and 14, from our point of view. We are looking forward to the chemistry between Damian and Warrick at 15 and 14.”
Springboks starting XV: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Warrick Gelant, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn.
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