SHEET: KWAGGA SMITH

Smith just got started 19 of his 49 Tests to date.

He is one of the only ones three Springboks to have attended Middelburg Hoër Tegniese Skool. The others were Bakkies Botha and Andries Coetzee.

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Lockdowns Franco Mostert and RG Snyman return to the green and gold jumper after long spells on the sidelines through injury in a strong squad named by national coach Rassie Erasmus, who named Eben Etzebeth captain and Siya Kolisi started on the bench.

Smith, 31, who made his Springbok debut against Wales in Washington in 2018 and won two Rugby World Cup winners’ medals, will start at No 8 as he celebrates the important milestone in the career.

Split banquet 7/1

Mostert returns to the squad for the first time since recovering from the broken leg he suffered against Ireland in the Incoming Series, while Snyman is fully fit after a leg injury sustained in Australia in the build-up to the first Rugby Test against the Wallabies. Championship, which excluded him from the team’s triumphant campaign.

Erasmus opted for a split of seven forwards and one back on the substitutes’ bench and made 11 changes to the starting side that defeated Argentina in the Rugby Championship final in Nelspruit in September.

Fourteen players from the matchday squad took part in the match against Pumas.

There are 12 survivors in the 23-man squad that last faced Scotland (in last year’s Rugby World Cup group stages) – Mostert, Snyman, Etzebeth (lock), Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi (both prostitutes), Kolisi , Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden (all full-back), Jasper Wiese (No.8), Ox Nche (prop), Grant Williams (utility back) and Willie le Roux (full back).

Smith starts his 50th cap in a loose trio with Elrigh Louw and Van Staden, while Mostert joins forces with Etzebeth, SA’s most capped player of all time, in the engine room where he will extend his record to 129 Test matches.

The team has an all-new backline for Nelspruit’s triumphant Rugby Championship matchday side, with scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse the only defender to retain his place in the starting line-up.

Veteran fullback Willie le Roux will take another step towards reaching the exclusive pool of Springbok centurions when he lines up at fullback in his 98th Test match, while Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie have been named as wings, outside the middle duo. of Andre Esterhuizen and Lukhanio Am.

RELATED | Willie le Roux is about to join the Springbok Test centurion club

Hendrikse, meanwhile, will partner the experienced Handre Pollard in an exciting midfield pairing.

Erasmus has loaded his bench with experience, with the forward seven fronted by Marx, Vincent Koch and Gerhard Steenekamp, ​​with Snyman providing cover and Kolisi, Du Toit and Wiese set to give the team a boost at the free forward.

Williams, in turn, who provides cover at scrum-half and on the wing, is the only full-back among the substitutes.

“This is an experienced and quality squad and, adding to that, 21 of the 23 players have won a Rugby World Cup title, some have won two, so they know what it takes to perform at this level.” said Erasmus.

“Many of these combinations have played together this season, either during the Incoming Series and the Rugby Championship or both, which will be valuable against a quality team like Scotland.

“We’re expecting an extremely physical game so we’ve gone for a seven-one forward split on the bench and this has been helped by having such versatile players in the back line who can cover different positions if it is necessary.”

Commenting on Smith playing his 50th Test Erasmus said: “Kwagga is a very talented player and a fantastic member of the team and I am delighted to see him reach this important career milestone. It takes a special player to perform consistently over a number of years to achieve this feat and Kwagga certainly did, maintaining the same high standards in training and on the field. We are very proud of him.”

Erasmus predicted another tough battle with the Scots: “They are ranked seventh in the world and they are a team that never stops fighting. They also have top quality players in the squad, we know it will be an epic battle.

“In last year’s Rugby World Cup we were only three points ahead of them at half-time and with the new dynamic they have brought to their game we know it will be a battle for 80 minutes.

“They will also have a passionate and vocal home crowd behind them and we know the energy they bring to our team when we play at home, so that will spur them on even more ahead of the game.”

The match kicks off at 18:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

foresight

Springboks with 13 points

teams

Scotland

15 Tom Jordan, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman

Subs: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth ( captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche

Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, ​​18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 22 Jasper Wiese, 23 Grant Williams

Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

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