Rassie Erasmus relishing Springboks’ Soweto spectacle against All Blacks

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus says his players are excited by the prospect of facing the All Blacks in front of an 80,000-strong crowd at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium on Saturday, with vuvuzelas and passionate home support expected to create a unique atmosphere.

Erasmus has made four changes and one positional switch to his starting XV for the third Test in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, choosing to retain much of the combination that delivered a composed performance in Cape Town last week.

Ox Nche, Wilco Louw and Malcolm Marx return to the starting line-up in the front row. Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit and Deon Fourie move to the replacements bench.

Cheslin Kolbe switches to fullback, while Kurt-Lee Arendse comes into the starting side on the wing.

“We are excited that we will be playing at the FNB Stadium, where on a good day there is an 80,000-strong crowd,” Erasmus said.

“That will be a new and exciting experience for our players because most of these players have never run onto the field there, and the support we enjoy there will add to the occasion.

“With the vuvuzelas and passionate crowd there, we can hardly hear one another on the field, so we are all thrilled about this occasion.

“But make no mistake, this is going to be another intense battle between the two top teams in the world who are both looking to get an edge in the series, so we know what we have to do, and composure and accuracy are going to be vital for both sides.”

The coach said continuity in selection was central to the Springboks’ plans for the series, particularly after the way his team handled last week’s match.

“It was always our plan to have a little more continuity in player combinations for this series,” he said.

“We thought that the players who did the job for us last week really showed composure and did well to stick to the plan and what we wanted to achieve last week.

“Unfortunately, Damian Willemse took a knock in the first half and was not available for selection this weekend, and neither was Handre Pollard, and by sticking to these combinations and making one switch with Cheslin at fullback, we thought it would be the best for this match.”

Erasmus added that Arendse had been unfortunate to miss the previous match after Kolbe recovered from a minor injury.

“Kurt-Lee was unlucky not to play last week after Cheslin recovered from his niggle, so we are pleased to see him back.

“He is a quality player, and his 25 tries in 33 matches so far shows the type of player he is.”

The All Blacks will arrive in Soweto determined to respond strongly, according to Erasmus, after the outcome of the opening match in Johannesburg.

“We know how it felt after the first match in Johannesburg, and such a result really galvanises a team, so we have no doubt that they will go full-out to win this Test match before the series finale in the US next week,” he said.

“They are one of the two best teams in the world and based on experience, they never give up, as we saw last weekend, so this will undoubtedly be another epic encounter between the sides.

“After two games, we are both into hard Test rugby mode, and we have a good idea of what to expect from one another, so it is going to be another grind of a match.”

The Springboks team is: Cheslin Kolbe; Kurt-Lee Arendse; Jesse Kriel; Damian de Allende; Ethan Hooker; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu; Cobus Reinach; Jasper Wiese; Pieter-Steph du Toit; Siya Kolisi (capt); Ruan Nortje; Eben Etzebeth; Wilco Louw; Malcolm Marx; Ox Nche.

Replacements: Deon Fourie; Gerhard Steenekamp; Thomas du Toit; Lood de Jager; Andre Esterhuizen; Cameron Hanekom; Morne van den Berg; Manie Libbok.