Siya Kolisi for Springboks against Ireland.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has named an impressive 20 Rugby World Cup winners in his matchday 23 for their opening Test against Ireland on Saturday.
The entire starting XV and five players on the bench are those in question as the top two nations in world rugby are set to collide at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Gerhard Steenekamp (prop), Salmaan Moerat (lock) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (utility back) are the only players in their 23 to have not won a World Cup with the Boks.
In a big boost to the Springboks, both Willie le Roux and Cheslin Kolbe are named as starters after recovering from injury while back-row Siya Kolisi will captain the team.
The selection shows eight changes to the one that beat Wales 41-13 at Twickenham as Erasmus also welcomes back Kurt-Lee Arendse (wing) and Handre Pollard (fly-half).
Marco van Staden, RG Snyman and Steenekamp are also among those returning for the Boks via the replacements bench as Erasmus backs his team to impress on Saturday.
“This is the team we believe will give us the impetus we need against Ireland, who are the second highest ranked team in the world,” said South Africa head coach Erasmus.
“We are blessed to have a lot of depth in our squad, and we are in a fortunate position to have several Rugby World Cup-winners in our ranks who know what it takes to perform at the highest level and play against the best teams in the world.
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“The fact that most of these guys have played together is a bonus for us, and most of them have faced Ireland before so they are well aware of the challenge that lies ahead, especially since we haven’t beaten them since 2016.”
On the selection of 20 Rugby World Cup winners, Erasmus admitted he was fortunate to be able to call upon such experience for this mouth-watering series opener in Pretoria.
“It’s great to be in such a position, and while it may serve as a mental boost, Ireland are a quality outfit and they’ll come out guns blazing. This is a new year for us with new systems in place, so while it certainly helps that most of the players have won a World Cup or two, this is a fresh chapter for us,” he said.
Erasmus expected a physical onslaught from the visitors in front of a sold-out Loftus Versfeld crowd and said it would be a full-out battle between the sides for 80 minutes.
“Ireland have had the upper hand over us in the last few years and they will certainly want to build on that on Saturday,” he said. “That said, we have a good idea of what to expect from them, especially after the World Cup last year.
“They have a few new players in their ranks this year, but so do we and that contributes to the excitement for the match. They are a physical team that never give up, but the margins between the teams are fairly small, so it’s going to be an intense battle and one that will require a resolute performance for the full 80 minutes.”
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Date: Saturday, July 6
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17:00 local (16:00 BST)
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Mike Adamson (SRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
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