Rossouw in to beef up the second row
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:54
Adding his muscle to the pack: Bok lock Danie Rossouw. (c) Gallo
Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has resisted the temptation to blood new players in South Africa's final Tri-Nations Test, with Danie Rossouw the only change to the starting line-up for Saturday's clash in Bloemfontein.
Lock forward Flip van der Merwe, who started in Soweto and at Loftus Versfeld, moves to the bench to make way for Rossouw, who will partner his Bulls teammate Victor Matfield in the second row.
There is also a change on the bench, where Gio Aplon comes back into the side in place of Butch James, who is unavailable for selection after injuring his shoulder during the Boks' 44-31 victory in Pretoria last weekend.
Tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis has recoved sufficiently from his shin injury to be selected, while Van der Merwe's neck problem would have been a contributing factor in the decision to move him to the bench.
De Villiers explained that he considered bringing star duo Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira back into the squad, but he felt that a full 80-minute work-out for the Sharks - as opposed to a Bok cameo from the bench - would serve them better.
Despite New Zealand having already wrapped up the 2010 Tri-Nations title, there is still plenty to play for in Saturday's match, as the winner will come away with the Nelson Mandela Challenge Shield.
"It's a very important game. We have a trophy to win but we are also building towards the 2011 World Cup," vice-captain Victor Matfield said.
"The last 60 minutes [at Loftus Versfeld] were a start and we have to build on that confidence."
The contracted players are expected to go on a conditioning camp after the Tri-Nations before taking a break from the game. The plan is to rest some of the big names and blood some new players on the end-of-year tour, but Matfield stressed that these plans still need to be finalised.
"I will play my best team on that tour," De Villiers quipped sarcastically when asked about taking a weakened side on tour.
"All you guys [the media] have been telling me that John Smit is not good enough, Victor [Matfield] is not good enough and Bryan [Habana] is not good enough, so maybe I'm going to start listening to you."
South Africa: 15 François Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 François Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Gio Aplon.
Date: Saturday, September 4
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
(England)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
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