eBusiness Weekly
The Springboks’ 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi (pictured right) will make his return from injury this weekend against Wales in Cardiff.
Kolisi has not played since June when he suffered a serious knee injury during his swansong match for the Sharks, which threw his World Cup in doubt.
The captain’s return is just in time for the global showpiece with the clash against Wales this weekend and the All Blacks next weekend the final warm-up games for the defending champions.
Alongside Kolisi in the back-row is the tireless Pieter-Steph du Toit and powerhouse number eight Jasper Wiese. In the second-row it is an all-Munster pairing as RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn start.
Malcolm Marx gets his chance to start alongside the experienced prop duo of Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe in the front-row.
New half-back pairing
In the backline, scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse makes his return from injury to get some much-needed game time in this clash.
He forms a new partnership with Manie Libbok whose importance has grown since Handre Pollard’s omission from the squad due to fitness.
Jesse Kriel is in a similar spot as he is the only specialist outside centre in the Springboks’ squad. He starts alongside veteran Damian de Allende in the midfield, not for the first time.
Willie le Roux returns to the starting XV at full-back in place of Damian Willemse whilst youthful wing Canan Moodie and the hot-stepping Cheslin Kolbe round out the run-on side.
The Boks have opted for their preferred 6-2 split on the bench with Grant Williams and Willemse the two backline options.
Bongi Mbonambi, the returning Ox Nche and Vincent Koch make up the front-row replacements whilst Franco Mostert, Marco van Staden and Duane Vermeulen will all look to bring impact off the bench.
Momentum is key
Head coach Jacques Nienaber is looking to build momentum going into the World Cup.
“We have two Tests left before we begin our Rugby World Cup campaign and our focus now is to start building momentum and continuity so that we can peak at the right time for our opening game against Scotland in just under four weeks,” said Nienaber.
“We gave most of the players in the expanded squad a run in the last four matches and they are now battle hardened and we know anyone in this squad can step in and rise to the challenge whenever they are selected.”
The coach is pleased to have Kolisi and Nche return for the clash and is happy with how the players’ rehabilitation went.
“Siya and Ox have been working extremely hard on their rehabilitation over the course of several weeks, and it’s fantastic that everything worked out according to plan to allow us to select them for this match,” he said.
“They have two matches to build up their match fitness before the World Cup, and although it will be important to manage their load in the match, it’s vital that they return to the field as they are key players in our set-up.”
Nienaber is also excited to see Hendrikse run out with the side after some time out due to injury and family reasons.
“Jaden was unfortunate not to play in the last few weeks, but he is a top-class player and he’s been training hard, so we are pleased that he’ll finally get his chance this weekend,” said the coach.
“Unlike Siya and Ox, he’s been training fully with us for weeks, so it’s a matter of getting back into game mode for him.”
The Bok tactician expects a gruelling challenge from Wales and a tight one in what he describes as an “epic battle”.
“Wales are a gutsy team, and similarly to the Pumas, they don’t hold back,” said Nienaber.
“So, we need to be up for the match physically and get into every battle from the get-go. They’ll also draw confidence from the fact that they won four of their last five games against us at home, but we did well to grind out a win against them last year, so we expect it to be an epic battle.” — planetrugby.com
