Muller to lead Boks against Baa-baas
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:43
Sharks lock forward Johann Muller will captain South Africa when they face the Barbarians in their year-ending 'international' at Twickenham, London, on Saturday. It will be the second time that Muller captains the Springboks, after also leading them in a Tri-Nations encounter against New Zealand in Christchurch earlier this year. He takes over the captaincy from World Cup-winning hooker John Smit, who has returned to his French club Clermont Auvergne - after the Top 14 outfit refused the former Sharks star permission to play at Twickenham. The team, for what is Jake White's final act as Bok coach, shows three changes from that which beat Wales 34-12 in Cardiff last weekend. The first change sees Bismarck du Plessis come in at hooker in place of Smit. The other change, also in the pack, sees veteran Johan Ackermann - another Sharks player - partnering fellow Durbanite at lock in place of Bakkies Botha, who injured his ankle in the win against the Welsh. Botha has stayed with the team, but Ackermann was flown in earlier this week after it became clear that Botha would not be fit. The final change to the Bok XV is on the wing, where Akona Ndungane replaces World Cup star JP Pietersen in the number 14 jersey. Hooker Tiaan Liebenberg (Western Province) and lock Barend Pieterse (Free State Cheetahs) will make their Bok debuts if they come off the bench. Liebenberg and Pieterse replace Bismarck du Plessis and Hilton Lobberts on the bench, whilst centre Wayne Julies comes in for fellow Bulls star Ndungane amongst the replacements. The Barbarians encounter is a non-Test game, meaning no Test caps will be awarded. However, all the players will earn Springbok colours, as a player would for a normal midweek tour encounter. South Africa: 15 Ruan Pienaar, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 André Pretorius, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Johan Ackermann, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 CJ van der Linde. Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Barend Pieterse, 20 Wynand Olivier, 21 Wayne Julies, 22 Conrad Jantjes. Date: Saturday, 1 December Venue: Twickenham, London Kick-off: 15.00 GMT (17.00 SA time) Referee: Christophe Berdos (France) Touch judges: Romain Poite (France), Rob Debney (England) Television match official: David Changleng (Scotland) Assessor: Paul Bridgman (England)
