Four debutants in Springbok team as Koch strikes 50 against Wales

Rugby World Cup-winning prop Vincent Koch will earn his 50th Test cap on Saturday when the Springboks take on Wales at Twickenham in their first international since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in France in October last year.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named an exciting matchday 23 that will be captained by flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit and features four uncapped players.

Wing Edwill van der Merwe and flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse are the two uncapped players named in run-on team, while lock Ben-Jason Dixon and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the two new faces on the replacements bench.

World Cup players

A total of 10 players in the matchday squad featured in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, while 16 players were members of the Rugby World Cup squad.

The Boks welcome back experienced hooker Malcolm Marx, who last ran out for the team in their opening World Cup encounter against Scotland before suffering a knee injury at training which ruled him out of further tournament action.

Erasmus has opted for a five-three split in favour of the forwards on the replacements bench, which includes four Rugby World Cup winners – Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Grant Williams, and Damian de Allende respectively.

Excitement all around as coach Rassie Erasmus names the first Bok squad for the year! 🤩

Four debutants and 50 up for a stalwart! 🇿🇦

More at the following link: https://t.co/7LSmiNQAfp#Springboks#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/VqkeFAEr00

— Springboks (@Springboks) June 18, 2024

“This is an exciting playing squad and travelling group, and we are looking forward to seeing how the uncapped players step up at top international level and how we execute what we’ve been working on at training in the last few days and at the alignment camps,” said Erasmus.

“The likes of Edwill, Jordan, Ben-Jason and Sacha have really impressed us at training, and we believe they have what it takes to make their presence felt against a quality team such as Wales.

“They will be surrounded by several experienced campaigners – some of whom are Rugby World Cup winners – so they will have enough guidance on the field to fulfil their roles even when the pressure is on.”

Captain Du Toit

Commenting on the decision to hand Du Toit the captaincy, Erasmus said it was not only well deserved, but also personal for the player since the first and only time he led the team was against Wales in Washington in 2018 – a Test the Boks lost 22-20.

“Pieter-Steph has been a key figure in our system for several years now and he’s a player who leads by example on the field. We have a strong core of senior players in this group, and we had a few options for captain, but we feel Pieter-Steph will be the right man to lead the team this week,” explained Erasmus.

“He has captained the Springboks only once before and that was against Wales in 2018, and after that result, we believe it will make this match even more personal for him. Over and above that, he has immense respect from his teammates and the coaches, and we know he will accept this responsibility with great pride.”

Erasmus was delighted to see Koch earn his 50th Test cap and lauded the player for being a stalwart for the Boks.

“It’s a special achievement to play 50 Tests. It requires one to play well consistently and to continue to deliver, and Vincent has certainly done that for us over the years,” Erasmus said.

“He’s a hard worker, and he’s had a great season for the Sharks, so we all share in the excitement for him ahead of this big occasion.”

Springbok team

Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Jordan Hendrikse, Faf de Klerk, Evan Roos, Pieter-Steph du Toit (c), Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche

Bench: Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Ben-Jason Dixon, Grant Williams, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende