Rassie Erasmus was delighted to have Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi cleared to tackle the All Blacks in a blockbuster rematch at Cape Town Stadium this week.

Kolisi, who took a blow to the cheek in last week’s win at Ellis Park, will lead a rejigged Bok lineup against New Zealand in Cape Town on Saturday.

Canan Moodie and Jaden Hendrikse will feature in the green and gold for the first time since running out against Tonga in the Rugby World Cup pool stages in France 11 months ago. Willie le Roux and Lukhanyo Am also return to face the Kiwis in Cape Town.

Erasmus recalled the quartet to the team, which shows seven changes from the Johannesburg victory – two of which are positional – to the starting XV.

“Siya is a world-class player and captain, and he adds immense value to the team with the way he leads by example and galvanises the team when the pressure is on,” the Bok coach said.

“Similarly to the call we made with Eben [Etzebeth] last week, our team policy is that if a player trains on a Monday and gets through training during the week pain free, they can be selected for the weekend, and Siya did just that.

“Honesty from the players about whether they can play and deliver fully on what we expect from them is a key part of our team culture, so have full faith in Siya to give everything on the field.”

Thirteen players in the lineup played in the 2023 World Cup final against the All Blacks, which the Boks won 12-11. The squad features 19 world champion in total, with the only four players in the matchday 23 that did not participate in France.

TEAM: Siya cleared to tackle All Blacks

The bench features the same front row that took on the All Blacks in Joburg: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch while loose forwards Elrigh Louw and Kwagga Smith complete the forward replacements.

Etzebeth will close in on Victor Matfield’s record as the most capped Springbok (127 caps) as he plays his 126th Test, while Le Roux’s start will nudge him to only three Tests away from joining the select group of Bok centurions.

However, Erasmus was not focused on potential records, should the Boks triumph, which could include winning four successive Tests against the All Blacks for only the second time in the history of the game, regaining the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009, and changing their fortunes in Cape Town where the visitors have won four of their last five Tests.

He said the team’s only focus was on delivering a quality performance as they look to continue building momentum after their encouraging start to the competition. A victory would also see the Boks take a major step toward winning the competition for the first time since 2019.

“It would be fantastic to achieve that as a team, but if you look too far ahead it comes back to bite you,” said Erasmus.

“The focus for us all week is to try to deliver the best possible performance we can against New Zealand and to correct the wrongs of last week.

“New Zealand have not been the best team in the world for some many years for nothing. They’re a formidable team and they’ve shown in the past against us that you never write them off. We saw how they bounced back against Argentina after losing their first match of the tournament.

“They’ll also be motivated by the fact that Cape Town has been a good hunting ground for them; they’ll be inspired to make a strong statement this week.

“Like us, they’ve a lot to play for, so we know it’ll be as intense and as tight as it ever has been between us. It’s going to take another hard grind for the full 80 minutes.

Photo: @Springboks/Twitter

The post Rassie has ‘full faith’ in Kolisi to deliver appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Src: sarugbymag.co.za