The Springboks team to face England in the World Cup semi-finals in Paris on Saturday has been named. Coach Jacques Nienaber has decided to go with an unchanged team from last weekend’s quarter-final win against France. This means that the Boks will once again have a split of five forwards and three backs on their bench.
The backline cover will be provided by the 2019 title-winning trio of Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard, and Willie le Roux. Up front, Duane Vermeulen will play at No 8, and next to Eben Etzebeth will be Franco Mostert.
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Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse, who both scored tries in the win against France, will be on the wings, with Damian Willemse at fullback.
The matchday squad is the most experienced in Springbok history, with a combined total of 895 caps. Fifteen of the 23 players in the squad have played against England in the 32-12 victory in the RWC final four years ago in Japan when the Boks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time.
Coach Nienaber has only named an identical line-up once before in the 64 Tests since he took charge of the team in 2018. The only other occasion was in the opening match of the 2019 tournament, which was lost 13-23 to New Zealand.
The Depth of the Squad
Coach Nienaber expressed his confidence in the depth of the Springbok squad, stating that they have been building a quality Rugby World Cup squad for the last few years to be in this position going into the knockout matches.
He explained that they have a squad of 33 players, all of whom are very closely matched in terms of their skill and quality of play, making it tempting to make changes. However, they believe it’s now time to go with the players who are in their best form.
Unfortunately, some players had to miss out on the matchday squad, including Lukhanyo Am, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Jasper Wiese, and Jean Kleyn. Coach Nienaber acknowledged that these players are all good enough to be in the team and would have done the job just as well, but they can only select 23 players and everyone in the group understands that the country comes first.
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The Springbok Team
The Springbok team to face England in the World Cup semi-finals:
- Damian Willemse
- Kurt-Lee Arendse
- Jesse Kriel
- Damian de Allende
- Cheslin Kolbe
- Manie Libbok
- Cobus Reinach
- Duane Vermeulen
- Pieter-Steph du Toit
- Siya Kolisi (capt)
- Franco Mostert
- Eben Etzebeth
- Frans Malherbe
- Bongi Mbonambi
- Steven Kitshoff
Bench:
- Deon Fourie
- Ox Nche
- Vincent Koch
- RG Snyman
- Kwagga Smith
- Faf de Klerk
- Handre Pollard
- Willie le Roux
