Category Archives: Sports News

Sport24.co.za | ‘Unbelievable’: Superhero Stokes hails breathtaking third Ashes Test triumph

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England, dismissed for just 67 in their first innings — their lowest Ashes total in 71 years — were seemingly dead and buried at 286-9, still 73 shy of a victory target of 359.

But 28-year-old left-handed batsman Stokes, whose five-and-a-half hour innings was a brilliantly paced mix of defence and aggression, saw England home with a superb 135 not out.

“Unbelievable,” Stokes told Sky Sports. “It’s one I’ll never forget.

“I’ve got to try and take it all in,” added Stokes, whose batting heroics helped Englnd win the World Cup for the first time in July.

“I’m not sure it’ll ever happen again. It’s one of the two best feelings I’ve ever felt on a cricket pitch.”

Stokes, involved in a run out of Jos Buttler which looked to have scuppered England’s chances, added: “Just never give up. It’s not over until it’s over. When Leachy came in it was pretty clear what had to be done. It was five and one. I’ll take five (deliveries), you take one.”

Bespectacled Leach, who hit a career best 92 as nightwatchman in England’s recent Test win over Ireland, played his part as Stokes acknowledged.

“He’s a super nightwatchman, knowing what he had to do. I couldn’t watch in the end. I was just waiting to see what happened.”

Stokes, two not out off 50 balls at Friday’s close, faced 219 deliveries in total, hitting 11 fours and eight sixes.

“I think when it got down to the 30s I was thinking, ‘rein it in a little’, but when it was in the 60s, 70s, 50s I had to really try and I sort of got in the zone,” explained Stokes. 

“We had to win this game to stay in the Ashes and we managed to do it.”England captain Joe Root labelled his longtime friend’s display “outrageous”.

“We said at the start of the day, ‘we just have to believe’ and while two people are alive and breathing, we have a chance,” said Root,  who added just two runs to his overnight score before falling for 77.

“We’ve seen some freakish things already this summer in the World Cup but I didn’t think we’d see something similar in this series.

“It was an incredible game of cricket, an incredible atmosphere and Test cricket is alive and kicking. This Ashes is alive and kicking.”

Asked about Stokes’s innings, he added: “To try and sum that up in words is pretty much impossible. Outrageous batting.”Meanwhile, Australia captain Tim Paine said: “It’s hard to take, losing from that position but you tip your hat sometimes.

“Ben Stokes played an unbelievable innings and in the end he was too good for us. It was probably the best Test innings I’ve seen and the rest of the team thought the same thing.”

Among those at the ground watching the match was David Gower, who played in the celebrated 1981 Ashes Test at Headingley when England beat Australia after following-on in a match where Ian Botham hit 149 not out and fast bowler Bob Willis took 8-43. 

“That was the most extraordinary performance I have seen from anyone ever, both as a player and as a broadcaster over the last 40 years,” Sky Sports commentator Gower said.

“To dominate proceedings like that, to control proceedings, to take all the risks that could easily have failed, to come out on top, to be there at that moment, that takes unbelievable skill, unbelievable courage,” the former England batsman added.

Sport24.co.za | Nadal, Federer, Djokovic remain ones to beat at US Open

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The year’s final Grand Slam showdown starts Monday on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts with top-ranked Djokovic, 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer and Spanish superstar Nadal having combined to win the past 11 Grand Slam titles.

Federer, 38, doesn’t see a problem with the dominance by the sport’s elder statesmen, who together own 54 of the past 65 Slam titles.

“I don’t think it’s a problem, per se,” Federer said. “Now that Novak, Rafa and me are healthy again, Andy (Murray) also slowly coming back again, has made it much harder for young guys to come through.

“They are definitely knocking on the door big-time now. I think that’s very encouraging for those who want to see somebody else win. I think also Novak’s domination, Rafa’s domination is also not normal for the game of tennis.

“I think there’s going to be chances moving forward, but it’s not surprising with the type of tennis they’ve been playing in recent years.”

Third-seeded Federer also throws in a chance for Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka, who like Britain’s injured Murray has won three Slam crowns during the “Big Three” reign, but figures a familiar face will be lifting the US Open trophy.

“Yeah, it seems like the same guys are the favorites again this time around,” Federer said. “It will be a surprise if anybody else won.”

Defending champion Djokovic, seeking a 17th career Grand Slam title, has won four of the past five Slams, denied only by Nadal’s French Open win in June. The 32-year-old Serbian says he has adjusted to the extra pressure of defending over the years.

“It’s a paramount challenge to defend a Grand Slam title,” he said. “These are the tournaments you want to win the most. This is where you want to shine.”

Nadal, 33, has made an impressive run with titles at Rome, the French Open and Montreal and a Wimbledon semi-final loss to Federer.

“Arrive to the big events with good feelings helps,” Nadal said. “Positive feeling, positive memory on my mind. That helps for the confidence.

“For the moment I am feeling well. I am practicing well during the whole week. Now remain a couple of days to just push a little bit more and try to start the tournament in a good way.”

Second-ranked Nadal, an 18-time Grand Slam winner who took his 12th French Open title in June, isn’t too excited over Federer and Djokovic both being in the opposite half of the draw.

“I have to win my matches to have an advantage because I only can meet them in the semifinals,” Nadal said. “I have plenty of work before that to know if I have an advantage or not.”

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed a stellar US Open run-up with a win at Cincinnati and runner-up efforts at Washington and Montreal.

“I don’t consider myself as one of the favorites just because at this moment of my career I haven’t even been in a quarter-final of a Slam,” Medvedev said. “If I get to the quarter-final, it’s going to be already a step forward and I’m going to be really happy about it.

“When I play my best tennis I can beat basically everybody and that’s what I need to keep doing here.”

Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem lost to Nadal in the Roland Garros final and will be a threat.

“Every year he’s improving,” Nadal said. “Every day he’s very solid and every year is more solid.

“He has everything to win important events. He already is winning important events. He’s a very, very hard worker. Just a question of time that he achieve all his goals.”

Germany’s sixth-ranked Alexander Zverev warns not to ignore other lower seeds such as Japan’s seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up, and Greece’s eighth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“There are a few guys that have a real shot to win it,” Zverev said.

“Obviously the ‘Big Three’ we don’t need to talk about. Of course, Novak is the big favorite, no question about it, but there are other guys that have been playing great tennis. I think those guys will be able to do some damage.”

Federer, however, wouldn’t mind stretching his lead over Djokovic and Nadal in the men’s all-time Grand Slam title race.

“I’m not putting extra pressure on myself. I know it’s going to be tough,” Federer said. “I feel like I’m part of that group who can do it.”

Sport24.co.za | Bok omission will see Willemse head for England

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“If he doesn’t go to the World Cup, Damian could have an opportunity to go to Saracens on a short-term loan, and if that does come about it’ll be a good thing for him as he can learn a lot through a short stint in the UK,” said Dobson.

“Saracens as you know have a very good kicking game. If he goes there he’ll learn a lot about the game management that is expected of a flyhalf and he’ll come back better equipped to do well for us in Super Rugby.”

Willemse has been out for a couple of months with the knee injury that he picked up playing a Super Rugby match against the Lions in Johannesburg at the beginning of June so he hasn’t been over-played this year and with the off-season longer than usual this year, a stint at Saracens makes sense.

“Our WP captain Chris van Zyl played for Saracens last year and enjoyed it and learnt a lot from the experience and then was back to take part in our pre-season,” said Dobson.

Right now though Willemse is not thinking about Saracens, or even directly about Springbok selection. His focus is on performing for WP in their crunch final Currie Cup league match of the season against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

“Damian is a special kid off the field as well as on it and is a deep thinker on the game so I don’t think he’s going to be too badly knocked if he isn’t in the World Cup squad, but he does want to make a point to the national selectors. In his mind he is still playing for a chance to be in the World Cup squad.’

Playing for and training with Saracens while the World Cup is on could have another positive spin-off in the event that there is an injury in the Bok squad and Willemse is called to Japan as a replacement. One of the potential difficulties when it comes to injuries sustained at this World Cup is that the Currie Cup will be over two weeks before the World Cup even starts, meaning that if there is an injury in mid-tournament and a South African based player is called to Japan, he wouldn’t have played for more than a month.

While obviously every player wants to be at the World Cup, and being there would be a good experience for Willemse, he stands to get more game time if he goes to Saracens and possibly more personalised attention too.

Dobson has repeatedly made it clear in the past few weeks that he sees Willemse’s future as being at flyhalf, with the youngster having played most of his rugby this year at fullback at the request of Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, who was looking for a back-up player who could play both flyhalf/fullback. That hole looks to have subsequently been filled by veteran Frans Steyn, who has done well as a replacement centre but can also wear the No 10 or 15 if called upon.

Dobson’s commitment to play Willemse at flyhalf should be welcomed by both fans of WP/Stormers and the national team, as that is where the gap is at both levels. SP Marais is heading to Japan at the end of the domestic season but Dillyn Leyds looks set to stay in the Cape and is a more than capable fullback, and there are also some promising fullbacks coming through on the provincial circuit, such as the Lions’ Tyrone Green and of course the Bulls’ Warrick Gelant, if he says fit, looks a likely long term replacement for Willie le Roux.

But the flyhalf stocks aren’t exactly overflowing. Handre Pollard must be close to the best flyhalf in the world at the moment and Elton Jantjies is an experienced international pivot, but beneath that there’s a gap. Curwin Bosch’s switch back to flyhalf earlier this year was one step towards filling that gap, and now Willemse’s return to flyhalf will add even more depth and a possible succession line to Pollard.

Like Bosch, Willemse has been playing first class rugby for long enough now for it to be forgotten that he has only just recently reached the age where his parents have given him the key to the front door. It was as recently as 2016 that he was lighting up the Craven Week at Kearsney College. He is of course far more physical than Bosch, who was the star of the previous Craven Week played in Stellenbosch, and arguably has more to his all-round game than Bosch has, but both of them are precociously talented and have plenty of time to develop. Willemse’s development could be accelerated by a short stint overseas.

“Damian showed us last week when he came on against Griquas what a good attacking flyhalf he is and we are expecting a lot from him against the Cheetahs. He’s really motivated to do well for us and hopefully push our season out by another few weeks, but if he is not in the World Cup squad when it is announced on Monday he will then give some thought to Saracens.”

The cash-strapped WP union appears quite eager to enter into loan agreements with overseas clubs. Tighthead prop Carlu Sadie is understood to have already left Cape Town to take up a short term loan deal in France.

Saturday’s Free State v WP clash is scheduled for 17:15.

Teams

Free State

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Darren Adonis, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Tian Meyer (captain ), 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Sintu Manjesi, 3 Boan Venter, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Schalk van der Merwe

Substitutes:  16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Jasper Wiese, 22 Dries Swanepoel /Dian Badenhorst, 22 Louis Fouche

Western Province

15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 SP Marais, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Justin Phillips, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 JD Schickerling, 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Corne Fourie

Substitutes: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Nama Xaba, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Seabelo Senatla

READ the story on SuperSport.com

Sport24.co.za | How humble Hong Kong Sevens shaped world rugby

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Hong Kong – As Japan gears up to host Asia’s first Rugby World Cup, they might give a nod of thanks in the direction of continental neighbours Hong Kong for helping to make it all possible.

The Hong Kong Sevens has grown from an end-of-season bash to a globally acclaimed festival of rugby, inspiring the World Cup Sevens and World Sevens Series — and tens of thousands of fans, who don outrageous fancy dress and party till they drop in the stands.

Its 43-year history has been liberally sprinkled with legends such as Jonah Lomu, David Campese, Waisale Serevi and Zinzan Brooke.

The city holds the accolade of being the only two-time hosts of the Sevens World Cup (1997 and 2005), reward for Hong Kong’s pivotal role in developing the oval-ball game across the world’s most populous continent.

The growth of sevens resulted in rugby’s return to the Olympics in 2016 after a 92-year absence.

None of that was in the wildest dreams of a group of club enthusiasts when they devised the event, according to former Hong Kong Rugby Football Union president Brian Stevenson, who has been involved from the start and was treasurer for the inaugural staging in 1976.

“There had never been a thought about a kind of international sevens. I thought it was a very innovative idea,” says Stevenson, HKRFU president from 2001 to 2016, at the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Happy Valley, within kicking distance of where it all began.

Stevenson describes how a capacity 3,000 crowd packed Hong Kong Football Club to see New Zealand’s Cantabrians win against sides from Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Tonga, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Fiji.

“Nobody would have expected it to take off as it has. We’ve been most fortunate,” says the Scot.

“I always felt it was the nature of Hong Kong and its location. This is probably the most international city in Asia. And when the fans came in, this was all pretty good.

“You think of the timing, 1976. Hong Kong was developing as a financial centre. Cathay Pacific was beginning to expand its wings. So there’s a lot of things together that really made it.”

The seed for the Hong Kong Sevens was sown when A.D.C. “Tokkie” Smith, then chairman of the Hong Kong RFU, attended the Scottish Rugby Union centenary sevens at Murrayfield in 1973.

By 1975 he had plans for an international 15-a-side tournament, but they were met with resistance from the governing body of the then strictly amateur sport.

“They were not helpful at all,” says Stevenson. “So the way around it was an invitational sevens. I don’t think any of us expected it to take off. Well, it was absolutely enormous.” 

The success attracted the world’s best players and eventually national teams, or at least some of them. 

“The most supportive people were definitely the southern hemisphere — Australia and New Zealand,” says Stevenson. “They came to the party quite soon. The (Pacific) islands — Tonga, Samoa, Fiji — were basically here from the word go.

“But the countries up north, well, that was a different experience. 

“I remember visiting the Scots, and them saying, ‘Aye Brian, but that’s not the game, the game is fifteens’.

“‘OK Sir,’ I’d say. And I’d go back to little Hong Kong.”

Stevenson believes the willingness of southern hemisphere players to embrace sevens gave them an edge when the game went professional in the 1990s.

“The big players, the forwards, the Zinzan Brookes, had become much more mobile than in the northern hemisphere. I thought it actually improved their game,” says Stevenson. 

Eventually the north came to the party. 

“We had sides from United Kingdom like the Barbarians, The Penguins, the Scottish Borderers,” said Stevenson. “They key was they came with the best players like (Scotland’s) Hastings brothers. 

“They were hugely supportive and they told their unions, ‘Come on, support these guys and go international’. That’s how it developed.”

Hong Kong now enjoys a three-day 40,000 sellout of colour, costume and top-class sevens in April every year with plans to expand to a new, bigger stadium in 2023. 

“It started as a bit of a jolly,” admits Stevenson. 

“But if you go back to the genesis of the whole thing, part of it was to develop rugby in Asia.

“You always had a New Zealand against Sri Lanka and a 50-0 wipeout or something. But when you spoke to the Sri Lankans they were over the moon.

“They had played against Jonah Lomu. They had had that experience. That was what it was all about.”

Sport24.co.za | Jantjies says Boks have ‘right system’ ahead of RWC

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Cape Town – Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies revealed that the side have developed the “right systems” in order to be successful at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

South Africa are in Pool B at the showcase tournament with defending champions New Zealand, Canada, Italy and Namibia.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will name his 31-man World Cup squad on Monday, August 26 with Jantjies expected to make the team.

“I know we have had different coaches, but we as individuals have come a long way,” Jantjies told Reuters.

“From my personal point of view, I think we now have the right system, defensively and in our kicking game, as well as from an attacking point of view.

“Everybody is aligned in terms of that. It is just for you as an individual do your role in the system.”

Jantjies also touched on the departure of assistant coach Swys de Bruin, after he left the Springbok camp just over a month out from the World Cup.

“We had a lot of time with coach Swys, even though he has now left. But we are all able to speak the same language, so he did enough. We are definitely going to do something special for him at the World Cup because he played a big role in terms of our preparation,” said Jantjies.

The Springboks kick-off their campaign against the All Blacks on Saturday, September 21 in Yokohama City.

Sport24.co.za | Boks move past England in rankings

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Cape Town – The Springboks have moved past England into fourth spot on the official World Rugby rankings.

This follows South Africa’s 24-18 win over Argentina in Pretoria on Saturday and England’s 13-6 defeat to Wales in Cardiff.

The Welsh, who have won 15 of their last 16 Tests, have moved past the All Blacks into top spot for the first time.

New Zealand beat Australia 36-0 in Auckland to retain the Bledisloe Cup but it was not enough for them to relinquish top spot for the first time since November 2009.

Elsewhere, France moved past Scotland into seventh spot after beating them 27-10 in Paris.

Top 20 in the latest World Rugby rankings:

1. Wales 89.43
2. New Zealand 89.40
3. Ireland 88.69
4. South Africa 86.83
5. England 86.79
6. Australia 84.05
7. France 80.58
8. Scotland 79.01
9. Japan 77.21
10. Fiji 76.98
11. Argentina 76.29
12. Georgia 74.42
13. Italy 72.04
14. USA 71.93
15. Tonga 71.49
16. Samoa 69.08
17. Spain 68.15
18. Romania 66.69
19. Uruguay 65.18
20. Russia 64.81

Others:

23. Namibia 61.01
32. Kenya 51.44
33. Zimbabwe 51.42

Sport24.co.za | Rassie: It’s nice to learn when you’re winning

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Cape Town – Rassie Erasmus breathed a sigh of relief and confirmed that his 2019 Springbok squad continued on a trajectory of progress following a 24-18 victory over Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Sbu Nkosi scored both the Boks’ tries, while Elton Jantjies kicked five from six as he contributed a conversion and four penalty goals.

Erasmus, the director of rugby at SA Rugby, admitted that the result was a case of winning ugly, but that the game had gone pretty much to expectations.

“All week, I knew it was going to be a grind and that it wasn’t going to be a free-flowing game,” he said.

“Argentina could have beaten New Zealand this season with that maul at the end, and they lost to Australia by six and they could have won that game as well, and I knew they were going to come for us.

“They were very well prepared and played so well and if they had won I would have been sitting here saying they deserved to win. I wouldn’t have moaned if they had – they played really well.

“But it’s nice to learn when you’re winning. We had some things confirmed and learnt other things about combinations.

“We did some good things and some bad things. The bad things were giving away stupid penalties and the intercept pass – not that it was Cobus Reinach’s or one person’s fault – and letting them off the hook at times.

“But we ground it out and I was pleased with the last 15 minutes and the way we finished.”

Sport24.co.za | Brits backs ‘amazing’ Scarra ahead of Bok debut

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Cape Town – Springbok captain Schalk Brits believes that debutant Scarra Ntubeni will impress in South Africa’s ‘Farewell Test’ against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria this weekend.

READ | Dobson hails Scarra Bok inclusion as ‘really great story’

Ntubeni toured with the Springboks in 2013 and 2014 but has had a long wait to pull on the jersey for the first time in a Test.

The 28-year-old is set to make his Springbok debut off the bench on Saturday, and Brits had a few word of encouragement for the Western Province hooker, whom he described as “a great rugby player and even a better person”.

“I’ve seen Scarra from a young age and although I’m very grey, he is getting more grey than me! It’s amazing to see a guy like that who have been in the trenches, had a lot of injuries and coming through the system,” said Brits.

“I’m backing him and he’s backing me up tomorrow. To learn everything in one week is tough but he is a clever player so I can’t wait to see him the Green and Gold and I hope he puts in a performance (when he gets onto the field) that is unbelievable.”

Saturday’s Test at Loftus Versfeld is scheduled for 17:05.

Teams:

South Africa

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits (captain), 1 Thomas du Toit

Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Frans Steyn

Argentina

15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 12 Lucas Mensa, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Mayco Vivas

Substitutes: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Santiago Carreras

Sport24.co.za | CSA will NOT judge Enoch Nkwe on Proteas performance in India

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Cape Town – CSA acting director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl admitted that they will not be judging interim team director Enoch Nkwe on the Proteas performance in just India and that he will be given time in the position.

The Proteas play the first of three T20Is on September 15 in Dharamsala, while their Test series gets underway on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.

CSA have thrown Nkwe in the deep end, as he will be the first occupant of the new team director role and manage a new-look Proteas dressing room.

Van Zyl revealed that it would be unfair for them to judge Nkwe’s performance as team director after one tour.

“We are aware that this is an interim position and one cannot we judged on one tour only, it would be very unfair,” Van Zyl told reporters on Thursday.

“Although there is process that needs to be followed to appoint the team director going forward, I don’t think one performance can ultimately influence the decision of appointing the full-time team director.”

READ | Proteas: Enoch faces early brain-teaser

The 36-year-old Nkwe has won two trophies – CSA 4-Day Challenge and T20 Challenge – with the Highveld Lions in his maiden season as their coach last season. He also coached the Jozi Stars to the inaugural Mzansi Super League title.

Van Zyl reiterated that Nkwe is the right man for the job.

“CSA believes he has the characteristics and that can bring the best out of the team,” said Van Zyl.

“Yes, he has inexperience at franchise level but if you look at his history, he has a lot of experience. He has a lot of success that came in coaching roles.

“Just listening to him this morning, I know Cricket South Africa has made the right decision in selecting him for the interim position.”

Sport24.co.za | Schalk Brits to lead Springboks into battle against Argentina

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Cape Town – The Springboks have been challenged by Rassie Erasmus to make a resounding statement about the health of South African rugby in the team’s Farewell Test against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Erasmus, the SA Rugby director of rugby, unleashed a new-look team to take on the Pumas on Wednesday, packed with players looking to secure a place in South Africa’s Rugby World Cup squad.

Eighteen of the team featured in the Rugby Championship-winning campaign but also included are five “newcomers” in the returning Siya Kolisi, Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw (prop), Marco van Staden (loose forward) and potential debutant Scarra Ntubeni (hooker).

Kolisi has been named in the starting XV for a cameo role as he continues his carefully managed rehabilitation from a knee injury while the team is captained for the first time by the experienced Schalk Brits (hooker), who becomes the second oldest Springbok captain at 38 years and three months, and makes his first start in the green and gold since 2008.

The backline that helped overwhelm Australia at Ellis Park a month ago has been re-united with the exception of scrumhalf, where Cobus Reinach gets an opportunity to start; while the pack features a new front row, a mighty Bulls locking combination and a first start of the season for Marcell Coetzee alongside Kolisi and Rynhardt Elstadt.

The Springboks have lost only once in their past six Tests, gathering the momentum and consistency requested of them by Erasmus, and he has charged Saturday’s Boks to up the ante.

“No matter what has happened before this weekend, the momentum we will go to the World Cup with will depend on what happens on Saturday,” Erasmus said.

“Some of these players will know they are on the plane but for others it is make or break – and even if they don’t make the plane there will be six standby roles to be identified.

“We’ve picked a formidable pack and we saw what the backline did against Australia so I am really excited to see what they can do on Saturday to prove their own case and also show just how strong South African rugby is.”

Erasmus said Brits had temporarily taken the captaincy as Kolisi’s role was likely to be a short one.

“I’ve asked Siya to empty his tank and go as hard for as long as he can,” said Erasmus.

“I’ve told him he might even come off in the first half. He has played less than 50 minutes of Currie Cup rugby in the last 12 weeks but I needed him to have a taste of Test rugby again before we leave for Japan.”

Vice-captain Elton Jantjies will take over the leadership role in the event of Brits being replaced – opening the way for a debut by Ntubeni.

The Stormers hooker toured with the Springboks in 2013 and 2014 but has had a long wait to pull on the jersey for the first time in a Test.

Erasmus said the split between six forwards and two backs on the bench was to provide extra loose forward cover for Kolisi’s cameo return.

Frans Steyn would cover all of flyhalf, centre and fullback with Faf de Klerk the only other back replacement.

Season sensation Herschel Jantjies was slated to provide scrumhalf cover, but he was withdrawn on Tuesday following a blow to his head in training. It is not expected to affect his potential inclusion in the Rugby World Cup squad.

“This is a massive Test for us against a fired-up Argentina team that will looking to end their Test campaign on a high,” said Erasmus.

“We’ve gained momentum over the Rugby Championship – the last thing we want to do is lose it.”

Saturday’s match against Argentina kicks off at 17:05 and tickets are available from www.ticketpro.co.za and the Loftus Versfeld ticket office.

Teams:

South Africa

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits (captain), 1 Thomas du Toit

Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Frans Steyn

Argentina

TBA