BREAKING: Springboks unchanged for second Ireland Test at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium

The Springboks will be aiming to clinch a series win over Ireland this coming Saturday while also cementing their standing as the world’s best rugby nation.

READ: NEWS: Ireland duo ruled out of second Test against the Springboks

A rusty-looking Springbok side clinched a 27-20 victory over the Irish at an electric Loftus Versfeld Stadium over the weekend, with Erasmus naming an unchanged side for Saturday’s highly-anticipated encounter.

“It’s always tough facing Ireland,” Erasmus told the SA Rugby.

“They are a quality team, they are ranked second in the world, and as we saw last week, they never stop fighting, so we know the magnitude of the challenge that awaits us this weekend.

“We have no doubt they’ll come out even stronger this week, but we also identified the areas of the game that we need to improve on, and it’s vital for us to build on our performance in our quest to win both matches.”

Erasmus added that he was delighted with the impact of the players from the bench with Steenekamp, Salmaan Moerat and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu all being introduced in the second half.

“They all made a strong impact off the bench, and they have immense potential as individuals,” said Erasmus. “They’ll definitely become more confident and settled the more they play.

“It was really impressive to see them step up to the challenge of facing a top side such as Ireland, and similarly to the rest of the team, they know this weekend will be an even bigger test, but they’ll be up for the challenge.”

Springbok team to face Ireland in Durban:

15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 94 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 32 caps, 96 points (15t, 3c, 5p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 70 caps, 80 points (16t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 80 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps, 70 points (14t)
10 – Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 70 caps, 708 points (7t, 98c, 154p, 5dg)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 57 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5pg)

8 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 42 caps, 35 pts (7t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 79 caps, 40 points (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 84 caps, 50 points (10t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 75 caps, 15 points (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 121 caps, 30 points (6t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 71 caps, 5 points (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 70 caps, 70 points (14t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 29 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 66 caps, 85 points (17t)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 0 points
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 51 caps, 0 points
19 – Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers) – 5 caps, 0 points
20 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 35 caps, 10 points (2t)
21 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps, 0 pts
22 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 10 caps, 10 points (2t)
23 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 2 caps, 7 points (2c, 1p)