No rabbits out of the hat as Springboks show continuity

If Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus wanted to make Saturday’s second Test against England in Bloemfontein all about Beast Mtawarira, he certainly succeeded.

The national team’s mentor on Thursday only made three changes to the match squad that did duty at Ellis Park last week, almost all of them expected.

Pieter-Steph du Toit will start at blindside flank in a swop with Jean-Luc du Preez, whose attacking of the rucks couldn’t mask that he lacked presence overall.

Furthermore, Stormers tighthead Frans Malherbe replaces his franchise teammate Wilco Louw in the No 3 jersey as the latter’s heavy workload to date in 2018 came back to bite him last weekend.

On the bench, Jesse Kriel replaces Elton Jantjies.

As a result, it allows much of the focus to be squarely on Mtawarira, who becomes the sixth South African to earn 100 Test caps.

“Much like a typical front rower, ‘Beast is not someone who likes the spotlight,” said Erasmus.

“However, his contribution to Springbok rugby during the past decade has been enormous and I want to congratulate him on reaching 100 Test caps for South Africa. It is a special achievement and while he deserves the accolades, I know he will be totally focussed on the most important job, and that is to face an extremely determined England side on Saturday in Bloem.”

Springboks: Willie le Roux, S’bu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (c), Franco Mostert, RG Snyman, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi. Bench: Akker van der Merwe, Steven Kitshoff, Thomas du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Ivan van Zyl, Jesse Kriel, Warrick Gelant.