BREAKING: Pollard in, Libbok out for Springboks!

Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber made only two changes to his starting team for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final, recalling the 2019 final halfback pairing of Handré Pollard and Faf de Klerk to the run-on side, making them the most capped nine-and-ten combination in Springbok history.

The pair start together for the 25th time, moving past Joost van der Westhuizen and Henry Honiball (24 Tests), to make them the most experienced halfbacks in Springbok history.

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They are among a starting team which features 10 players who started in the RWC final four years ago and is the most experienced in Springbok history with a combined total of 987 caps (eclipsing the record set the previous week against Egland of 895 Test caps).

A further four players on the bench also featured in the match-23 in the final at Yokohama Stadium, while 15 of the players in the squad appeared in the Springboks’ 35-7 victory the last time South Africa and New Zealand met at Twickenham in August.

Only two players in Nienaber’s forward pack did not start the 2019 final – lock Franco Mostert and prop Steven Kitshoff – with both playing off the bench four years ago. Mostert is paired once again with Eben Etzebeth, while Kitshoff partners hooker Bongi Mbonambi and prop Frans Malherbe in the front row.

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Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit (both flankers) and Duane Vermeulen (No 8) will again unite in an impactful loose trio.

In the backline, Pollard and De Klerk – who started on the replacements’ bench in the semi-final against England and the quarter-final against France – replace the duo of Manie Libbok and Cobus Reinach, who both drop out of the 23 to accommodate a split of seven forwards and one back on the bench.

The rest of the backline remains unchanged with Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel patrolling the midfield and the back three of Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse (both wings) and Damian Willemse (fullback) further sparking the backline.

No 8 Jasper Wiese and lock Jean Kleyn are drafted onto the bench, having been among the non-playing squad last week.

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Pollard is back at 10 for the Springboks team:

15 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 38 caps, 56 pts (4t, 9c, 4p, 2d)
14 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 14 caps, 65 points (13t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 67 caps, 75 points (15t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 77 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 30 caps, 91 points (14t, 3c, 5p)
10 – Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 68 caps, 686 points (7t, 96c, 148p, 5dg)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 54 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5pg)
8 – Duane Vermeulen (SA Rugby) – 75 caps, 15 pts (3t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) 75 caps, 40 points (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain – Racing 92) – 82 caps, 50 points (10t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat, Japan) – 72 caps, 15 points (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 118 caps, 30 points (6t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 68 caps, 5 points (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 67 caps, 65 points (13t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 82 caps, 10 points (2t)
Replacements
16 – Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 12 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 27 caps, 0 pts
18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 66 caps, 5 pts (1t)
19 – Jean Kleyn (Munster) – 6 caps, 0 pts (Ireland 5 caps)
20 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 33 caps, 10 points (2t)
21 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 39 caps, 35 pts (7t)
22 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 26 caps, 5 pts (1t)
23 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 92 caps, 75 pts (15t)

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against New Zealand:
Played: 105, Won: 39. Lost: 62, Drawn: 4. Points for: 1 729; Points against: 2 185; Tries scored: 168; Tries conceded: 239. Win %: 37.1%.

Milestones:
• Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard will start together as halfback combination for the 25th time, moving past Joost van der Westhuizen and Henry Honiball (24 Tests) as most experienced halfbacks in Springbok history.
• Bongi Mbonambi will move into joint-fourth place on the list of most starts at hooker, passing Malcolm Marx with his 35th start. The first four on the list are John Smit (81), Bismarck du Plessis (50), James Dalton (40) and Adriaan Strauss (35).

Miscellaneous:
• The Boks have played 12 Tests against four different opponents at the Stade de France, winning nine and losing three.
• If used off the bench, Trevor Nyakane will play his 49th Test as a replacement for South Africa. Only Steven Kitshoff (54) has more appearances as a substitute.
• The Springboks and the All Blacks have met on five previous occasions at a Rugby World Cup. The Boks won the first two (the final in 1995 and the third-place playoff in 1999) and New Zealand the other three (quarter-final in 2003, semi-final in 2015 and pool match in 2019).
• This is the most experienced team in Springbok history with a combined total of 987caps (eclipsing the record set the previous week against England of 895 Test caps).
• There are 348 caps in the backline, with 639 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 301 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 50, the forwards 80, while the players on the bench average 38.

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