Springboks roll the dice on 22-year-old: Here’s why!

The Springboks’ matchday squad to face Ireland includes as many as 20 Rugby World Cup-winners – the entire starting 15 and five players on the replacements’ bench.

There aren’t too many surprises in the team selection, although it is noteworthy that two locks have been selected on the bench in Salmaan Moerat and RG Snyman, while Kwagga Smith is backed to start at No 8.

A massive opportunity has also arrived for powerful loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp, who will provide back up to Ox Nche.

Among the backs, the real excitement will revolve around the selection of talented 22-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has clearly impressed the Springbok coaches.

Besides making an impression during recent training sessions, the Stormers star also looked extremely comfortable when he came off the bench to make his Springbok debut in the season-opener against Wales.

He will now have a huge role to play on a 6-2 forwards-to-backs bench split, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu set to cover flyhalf, centre and fullback.

“We were pleased with how easily Sacha slotted in and the contribution he made against Wales,” coach Rassie Erasmus commented. “Sacha, similarly to Grant (Williams), also offers us additional options in the backline, as he can cover flyhalf and centre, while Grant is efficient at scrumhalf and wing, which places us in a good position with the six-two split.

“Gerhard made a strong statement in the front row against Argentina in Buenos Aires last year,” Erasmus added. “Salmaan, in turn, may only have a few Test caps, but he’s a former Junior Springbok captain, he captained the Stormers, and like Sacha, he came through our Elite Player Development (EPD) system, so they have been exposed to the way we do things at this level for some time now.

“This match will test their skills, but they are all quality players, in whom we have full faith, and it doesn’t get better to experience that against a team like Ireland.”

Springbok team to face Ireland at Loftus Versfeld:

15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 93 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 31 caps, 91 points (14t, 3c, 5p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 67 caps, 80 points (16t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 78 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 15 caps, 65 points (13t)
10 – Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 69 caps, 698 points (7t, 96c, 152p, 5dg)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 56 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5pg)

8 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 41 caps, 35 pts (7t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) 78 caps, 40 points (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 83 caps, 50 points (10t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 74 caps, 15 points (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 120 caps, 30 points (6t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 70 caps, 5 points (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 69 caps, 70 points (14t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 28 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 65 caps, 85 points (17t)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 1 cap, 0 points
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 50 caps, 5 points (1t)
19 – Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 0 points
20 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 34 caps, 10 points (2t)
21 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 18 caps, 0 pts
22 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 9 caps, 10 points (2t)
23 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 7 points (2c, 1p)

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Ireland:

Played 28, Won 18, Lost 9, Drawn 1. Points for: 530; Points against: 412. Tries scored: 72; Tries conceded: 38. Highest score: 38; Biggest win: 38 points (38-0). Average score: 19-15. Win %: 64.2%.

Miscellaneous:

• Only two players in the forward pack – Ox Nche and Kwagga Smith – have fewer than 69 Test caps.
• Only one player in the backline has fewer than 30 Test caps, namely Kurt-Lee Arendse.
• Only three players in the team were not members of the RWC-winning squad (Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Salmaan Moerat, Gerhard Steenekamp).
• Willie le Roux needs only six Test caps after Saturday’s match to join the select club of Springbok centurions.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 966, the second most experienced team ever selected by South Africa after the 987-capped side for the RWC final last year.
• There are 403 caps in the backline, with 563 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 182
• The average caps per player in the backline is 57, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 22.