Handré Pollard will make his long-awaited return to the Springbok starting lineup when South Africa face Italy in Turin on Saturday as part of a much-changed side named by head coach Rassie Erasmus.
The veteran flyhalf, who last started for the Boks in the 24-17 loss against the All Blacks at Eden Park, headlines a host of changes as the Boks look to continue their unbeaten run on their year-end tour.
Erasmus has overhauled his starting XV, making 11 changes to the run-on side and one on the bench, while Siya Kolisi once again leads the team from the flank.
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Only Boan Venter, Kolisi, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse have retained their starting spots from Paris, while Erasmus has largely kept faith with the same bench – with Kwagga Smith returning in place of Johan Grobbelaar, who earns a promotion to the starting hooker role.
RG Snyman is set to win his 49th Test cap, leaving the towering lock just one away from joining South Africa’s 50-cap club.
Erasmus has named a completely new-look front row of Venter, Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen, the young tighthead who made his debut against Japan in London. Behind them, Jean Kleyn returns for his first Test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final, pairing with Franco Mostert in the second row.
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Kolisi will line up in the back row with Ben-Jason Dixon, who earns his first start of the season, and Marco van Staden, shifting to No 8.
“We’re looking to build depth and test combinations while keeping our standards high,” Erasmus said. “Italy are a proud team, and they’ll come at us with everything, especially playing at home. We’ve got to be sharp and physical to meet that challenge.”
SPRINGBOKS – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter.
Bench: 16 Gerhard Steenekamp, 17 Wilco Louw, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
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