Versatile Pieter-Steph du Toit set to be Bok enforcer against formidable All Blacks

Aphelele Fassi of the Springboks runs the ball during The Rugby Championship match between Australia Wallabies and South Africa Springboks at Optus Stadium on August 17, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

27 Aug 2024

Pieter-Steph du Toit will start in place of the injured Eben Etzebeth in the Springbok second row for the Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks.

Coach Rassie Erasmus has selected a Springbok team for the first of two Tests against the All Blacks with a few question marks as well as one that sends tingles of excitement down the spine.

As expected, lock Eben Etzebeth failed a fitness test on a suspect knee and joins the long list of injured second rowers, which includes RG Snyman, Franco Mostert, Jean Kleyn, Salmaan Moerat and Lood de Jager.

In a pragmatic switch Pieter-Steph du Toit will start at No 4 lock, bringing his high workrate and incredible physicality to a position that demands it.

Pieter-Steph du Toit will pair up with Ruan Nortjé in the second row in the absence of the injured Eben Etzebeth. (Photo: Morgan Hancock / Getty Images)

Du Toit, who epitomises the best of the Boks’ warrior spirit, is a handy replacement as the team’s enforcer in Etzebeth’s absence. The All Black coaching staff might be relieved that Etzebeth is absent, but in Du Toit they will receive no respite.

The indefatigable Du Toit has no quit, no fear and will, if anything, add to the Bok pack’s mobility while his lineout presence will ensure that facet of the game remains of high quality.

Ruan Nortjé will wear the No 5 jersey and manage the lineout calling in a new combination, which isn’t ideal for the Boks, but is inevitable. With six world-class locks on the injured list there wasn’t much wriggle room for Erasmus.

Not far off selection

Etzebeth was not far off selection, and according to Erasmus might have played if this were a crunch final. Although fans might ask, how much bigger does it get than a Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park?

“Eben may have been ready to play this week if we really needed him,” Erasmus said. “But we feel we will benefit more from selecting a player who is 100% fit, and Salmaan should also be back in the selection frame next week after following the return to play protocols.

“We’re happy that things will ease significantly for us in that department going into the second Test.”

In all, Erasmus made nine changes to the side that beat Australia 33-12 in Perth, but there are three changes to the more recognised “first-choice” team that beat the Wallabies 33-7 in Brisbane.

Jasper Wiese returns to No 8 for his first start of the year after serving a six-week suspension, while Aphelele Fassi is preferred at fullback over Willie le Roux. It’s a very strong nod to Fassi’s fine form this season that he has won the No 15 jersey over Le Roux for this crucial Rugby Championship clash.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has retained the flyhalf jersey. (Photo: Matt Roberts / Getty Images)

And Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s retention of the flyhalf jersey underlines that he is now the preferred 10 in the group, with World Cup hero Handré Pollard offering security on the bench.

“It’s not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan (Nortjé) stood his man in our last match, and we are confident that he’ll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock,” said Erasmus.

“This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.

“It’s also good to have a player of Jasper’s calibre back and we know that he’ll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field, and we are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.

“We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black backline.

“We’ve seen what most of these players can do under pressure in Australia, and we’re confident that they’ll want to build on that against the All Blacks.”

Pack changes

The pack shows six changes to the starting line-up that appeared in Perth with a new front row of Ox Nché (promoted from the bench in Perth) and the recall of the rested Frans Malherbe and hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

Wiese is joined in the back row by Bok captain Siya Kolisi and Ben-Jason Dixon, who has recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the Perth Test.

In the backline, Cobus Reinach and Feinberg-Mngomezulu reunite at halfback, while Erasmus recalled Damian de Allende to partner Jesse Kriel at centre, with Kurt-Lee Arendse also back in the team, linking up with Cheslin Kolbe and Fassi in the back three.

Aphelele Fassi has been chose at fullback for the Springboks, in place of Willie le Roux. (Photo: Paul Kane / Getty Images)

Erasmus’ bench – which features a split of six forwards and two backs – will see Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch in the replacement front row, while Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden and the energetic Kwagga Smith will offer the team solid loose forward cover options.

The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Pollard, who offer an array of options, covering scrumhalf, wing, centre and flyhalf between them.

The squad features 12 players who appeared in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris in October, as Erasmus has balanced building squad depth while maintaining some consistency in selection. They are Kolisi, Nché, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Du Toit, Wiese, Arendse, De Allende, Kriel, Kolbe, Smith, and Pollard.

Time to adjust

Wiese was deemed match ready, having been training with the team since the beginning of June at the first training camp in Pretoria, while Erasmus opted to give Steven Kitshoff (prop), Canan Moodie (wing), Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf) and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) more time to adjust to the new structures.

Erasmus said he expected an immensely physical approach from the All Blacks who have an impressive winning record of three wins in their last four outings at Ellis Park, with winning margins of seven points or more on each occasion.

“We’ve no doubt they’ll come out guns blazing,” he said. “They’ll want to build winning momentum after bouncing back against Argentina (a 42-10 win in Auckland) following their disappointing opening game (a 38-30 loss in Wellington), and the rivalry between the Boks and All Blacks will motivate them even more.”

Erasmus used the opportunity to reference the Rugby World Cup 2023 final, which the Boks won 12-11 at the Stade France.

“There is also no doubt they’ll still be hurting from the Rugby World Cup final, and in addition to that they know how important a win will be to square things up and open up the Rugby Championship log,” Erasmus said.

“They’re a quality team with several players who have an X-factor and they constantly pose a threat to our defence, so we have to start well and be on the top of our game in all departments to try to build on what we have done in the competition so far.

“We’re under no illusions that this will be a completely different challenge to that which Australia posed, and that the next two Tests will require a proper step-up from us.

“We are excited to see if we can take our game to the next level and give ourselves the best possible chance to stake a claim for the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.” DM

Springbok team:

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché

Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handré Pollard

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South Africa

Not far off selection

Pack changes

Time to adjust

Springbok team: