Springbok team vs England

No lock cover

Springbok team to face England in Johannesburg:

15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 49 caps, 71 pts (7t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)

14 Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath*) – 49 caps, 126 pts (21t, 3c, 5p)

13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 87 caps, 100 pts (20t)

12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 97 caps, 55 pts (11t)

11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls*) – 30 caps, 115 pts (23t)

10 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 28 caps, 145 pts (2t, 48c, 13p)

9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks*) – 28 caps, 35 pts (7t)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 44 caps, 15 pts (3t)

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 95 caps, 70 pts (14t)

6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks*) – 103 caps, 70 pts (14t)

5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls*) – 18 caps, 5 pts (1t)

4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 141 caps, 45 pts (9t)

3 Thomas du Toit (Bath*) – 32 caps, 5 pts (1t)

2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 87 caps, 130 pts (26t)

1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 47 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)

17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps, 10 pts (2t)

18 Zach Porthen (DHL Stormers) – 3 caps, 0 pts

19 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 33 caps, 20 pts (4t)

20 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) – 1 cap, 0 pts

21 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 50 caps, 95 pts (19t)

22 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 29 caps, 25 pts (5t)

23 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 23 caps, 45 pts (9t)

** Denotes the players’ current clubs, which will change on 1 July.*

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against England:

Played 47; Won 29; Lost 16; Drawn 2; Points for 1027; Points against 804; Tries scored: 93; Tries against: 60; Highest score: 58-10; Biggest win 48 points. Win percentage 61,7%

Some players may be undercooked and not enough match fitness for this game.

Eben hasn't played all year and when he was allowed back got sideline with concussion symptoms.

Nortje have had a massive work load this season and completely implode and was useless in the final.

Pietersteph came through the entire BaaBaas game but most like to cover for Eben at 4 half way during the game.

Kwotalisi hardly played, I expect him to be subbed after 30 min.

No flyhallf cover in Pollard.

In the backline we have the geriatrics,

Cobus comes back from injury, didn't impress for the season and pushing 35 already. but on the. bench

Dud and Kriel forms the midfield, don't expect much backline play.

Kolbe has lost pace and Arendse isn't as sharp as he once were. He didn't offer any value to the bools in the knockouts.

I think this team is a bit under cooked and probably not our best team we can put out.

Oh, and Manie has been playing Devision 2 in Japan, so let's see if it kept him fresh and sharp.

We probably see 50% different team next week or a completely different team against the Scots.

Porthen hasn't featured much for the Stormers. Rassie must have a plan for him

I'm worried about Eben. Not sure he should be starting. Rather give him the final 30 and let him go beast mode.

Ja, DDA...jirre why is he there?

This team gives me the same vibe as the Eden Park side that played 3,6, 9 rugby to lose the game.

So why is Riley Norton not with the Junior Boks?

Riley pulled a hammy, and will now be out for 8 to 10 weeks. This happened during training at the very last move. Rassie admitted that the training may be too intense for the younger guys as they are not used to the consistent intensity.

Also, maybe Rassie should have allowed him to Captain the Junior Boks and gone with JJ for now even though he is a big lug with low work rate, but our lock options are drying up

It's the team that was always going to be on the cards. I agree with most of the reservations expressed here though. Bench is a little lame - we really need to move on from Reinach and Eskom can't even crack a Bulls starting berth. Good to see Cam on the bench and at least Andre is there too. We know a guy like Arendse will lift his game for test match rugby despite looking off the boil at the end of the URC.

My biggest shock is no Wilco on the bench. Is he injured? Why would you not just use the full Bulls front row. Eskom covers 6, 7, 8, same as Cameron so frees up PSDT to move to lock. Andre is also another 7 option. Porthen is gonna have a hell of a a job if Genge stays deep into the game.

Rassie re Wilco:

Louw’s father passed away in April after a long illness, while the 31-year-old is also moving his family back to Cape Town from Pretoria after signing for the Stormers.

“Wilco has had a tough time,” Erasmus said. “Without getting into his personal life, there was illness in the family, there was a family bereavement, he was ill for one game and he’s had a tough five or six weeks.

“We just feel Wilco needs one week to settle down a little bit. We think his body has taken some hammering over the last couple of weeks, so that’s the reason.

“Thomas starting is quite solid for us at tighthead, and Zach coming off the bench gives us someone who’s really mobile. He’s really impressed in the scrum sessions.”

Classic Lucky…all sorts of innovations in the squad, back to the insurance policy with the actual team….ah but the new expansive game with Brown ball will shock and awe.

This was always going to happen.

Ah ok, I haven't had a chance to listen to the team announcement press conference.

Cheers Pakie.

You crawl before you walk...1st actual test match this season vs England nogal...there is no time for experimentation...stick with the trial and tested and let muscle memory do the rest... it's not rocket science, it's rugby.

There is a clip where Wilco is puking his guts out in the Leeenster final, where is standing on the goal line and just a flood of puke coming out of his mouth. The man is a machine.

I hope he feels better soon and back on top of his game

Oh I think this team selection is worse than I thought it would be. So not looking forward to this game :(

Average age of the starting backline 31 years….hahaha….Erasmus certainly reflects my argument that experience counts. And the pack….a solid 32 years old.

Makes sense to start the season with the most established team. Then start bringing in more players to compete with the established selections and combinations as the season progresses.

Hopefully, Hanekom can have a solid run without injury. He will give the pack an extra dimension. An allrounder- Vermulen style of player.

Agreed on Hanekom and that guy has pulled off some crucial try saving steals in the last year. In a pack with no fetcher except Marx he could provide more of a ground game.

Hidekichi Miyazaki (Japan): Known as "Golden Bolt," he holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest competitive sprinter. He ran the 100m in 42.22 seconds at the age of 105 in 2015

And he only started running at 104, still room for improvement. Beats my time hands down

Cover for 10 ??