Rassie backs Fassi to fly against All Blacks

In a Springbok team showing nine to the side that defeated the Wallabies in Perth (30-12), perhaps the biggest surprise is the selection of Aphelele Fassi at fullback ahead of veteran Willie le Roux.

Jasper Wiese is also recalled despite limited game-time after serving a lengthy suspension, while Pieter-Steph du Toit will fill in at No 4 for injured Eben Etzebeth.

“It’s not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan stood his man in our last match and we are confident that he’ll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock,” said Erasmus.

“This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.

“It’s also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back and we know that he’ll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field, and we are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.

“We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black backline.

The pack shows six changes to the starting line-up that appeared in Perth with a new front row of Ox Nche (promoted from the bench in Perth) and the recall of the rested Frans Malherbe and hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

Pieter-Steph du Toit moves from the side of the scrum to partner Nortje while Wiese is joined in the back row by Bok captain Siya Kolisi and Ben-Jason Dixon, who has recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the Perth Test.

In the backline, Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu reunite at halfback, while Erasmus recalled Damian de Allende to partner Jesse Kriel at centre, with Kurt-Lee Arendse also back in the team, linking up with Cheslin Kolbe and Fassi in the back three.

Erasmus’ bench – which features a split of six forwards and two backs – will see Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch in the replacement front row, while Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden and the energetic Kwagga Smith will offer the team solid loose forward cover options.

The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Handre Pollard, who offer an array of options, covering scrumhalf, wing, centre and flyhalf between them.

The squad features 12 players who appeared in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris in October, as Erasmus’ balanced building squad depth while maintaining some consistency in selection. They are Kolisi, Nche, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Du Toit, Wiese, Arendse, De Allende, Kriel, Kolbe, Smith, and Pollard.

Wiese was deemed match ready, having been training with the team since the beginning of June at the first training camp in Pretoria, while Erasmus opted to give Steven Kitshoff (prop), Canan Moodie (wing), Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf) and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) more time to adjust to the new structures.

Fassi has retained the No 15 jersey against the All Blacks:

15 – Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 6 caps, 15 points (3t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 35 caps, 96 points (15t, 3c, 5p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 73 caps, 80 points (16t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 82 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps, 85 points (17t)
10 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 6 caps, 33 points (12c, 3p)
9 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 34 caps, 65 pts (13t)

8 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 27 caps, 5 pts (1t)
7 – Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 3 caps, 5 points (1t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 86 caps, 55 points (11t)
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 0 points
4 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 81 caps, 45 points (9t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 73 caps, 5 points (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 72 caps, 70 points (14t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 33 caps, 0 pts

Miscellaneous stats and facts:

• Frans Malherbe will extend his number of starts at tighthead prop to 61 Tests, trailing only Tendai Mtawarira (102) and Os du Randt (75).
• The centre pairing of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende will extend their record of playing the most Test matches together in the midfield to 32 (the previous record was held by Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie with 29 Tests).
• Handre Pollard needs one conversion to become only the third Springbok to kick 100 two-pointers after Morne Steyn (102) and Percy Montgomery (153).
• Handre Pollard needs nine points to overtake Morne Steyn (742 points) and move into second place on the Springbok all-time scorers’ list. Percy Montgomery leads with 893 points.
• Should Malcolm Marx score a try he will move to 20 and into tenth equal place on the all-time Springbok try-scoring list with James Small. He is already the leading Springbok forward try scorer.
• Cheslin Kolbe needs four points to reach 100 points in Tests for South Africa.
• Should Kwagga Smith take the field, he will need only four more Test caps to join the club of Springboks with 50 Test caps.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 632.
• There are 255 caps in the backline, with 377 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 286 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 36, the forwards 47, while the players on the bench average 35.