Springbok midfield dynamo's Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am with the Freedom Cup after the Boks beat the All Blacks in Cape Town. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is looking forward to seeing how a number of new Bok combinations work when they battle it out in their Rugby Championship match against Argentina in Santiago on Saturday (11pm).
Erasmus named an interesting team on Tuesday, which features 10 changes to the starting XV that did business in their previous game against the All Blacks in Cape Town just under two weeks ago.
One of the new combinations sees Lukhanyo Am and Jesse Kriel starting in the midfield for just the second time, after they were deployed together in the second Test against the Wallabies Down Under last month, with Am taking the inside berth, despite him usually playing on the outside.
Other combinations that are relatively new include the loose trio of Marco van Staden, Ben-Jason Dixon and Jasper Wiese, as well as the lock pairing of captain Salmaan Moerat and Ruan Nortje.
Erasmus was quizzed on what he was hoping to see from the Am-Kriel partnership, but the coach opted to elaborate on the overall depth at centre in the Bok set-up.
“There are a few positions where you could ask that same question,” said Erasmus.
“Currently we are sitting with four guys who can play 12 for us, we have Andre Esterhuizen, Damian (de Allende), Handre (Pollard) who can play 12, and Lukhanyo.
“So we are really well stocked there, but we felt Damian deserved a rest, and we wanted Handre at 10 where he can play a nice controlled game which we think we will need against Argentina.
“So we went with Lukhanyo, who will be linking up with the guys and making his magic, while also being really physical in that channel which will be really important.”
Besides the number of new-look combinations in the team for Saturday, players such as rising stars Aphelele Fassi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, and Elrigh Louw will be keen to make their mark in a new, hostile environment, while a few seasoned travelers in Makazole Mapimpi, Cobus Reinach, Thomas du Toit and Manie Libbok will also hope to show Erasmus and Co they can be relied on at any stage still to perform on the big stages.
Boks team fore Saturday: Aphelele Fassi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Ben-Jason Dixon, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat (capt), Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Bench: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Jaden Hendrikse, Manie Libbok
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