A new-look Springbok side will look to bounce back from last week’s last-gasp defeat against Ireland when they face Portugal at a sold out Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. Here’s everything you need to know.
World Cup winners meet France 2023’s great entertainers in Bloemfontein on Saturday
A new-look Springbok side will arrive at the Toyota Stadium to face a Portuguese outfit who will be in confident mood after beating Namibia 37-22 last week.
This will be the first meeting between the sides with Rassie Erasmus opting to test his side’s depth against the minnows. That could spell trouble for Os Lobos with plenty of the hosts’ fringe players wanting to lay down a marker ahead of the Rugby Championship. The likes of Makazole Mapimpi and Aphelele Fassi – both of whom impressed against Wales a few weeks ago but missed out against Ireland – get another shot here, while there are seven uncapped players in the matchday 23.
The big story around selections is the naming of Salmaan Moerat as skipper. Erasmus and his backroom staff are looking to blood the next leadership group as part of the build-up to Australia 2027 and have identified the 26-year-old Stormer as someone who can fulfil the role.
Portugal remain a dangerous outfit and this Springbok side will need to guard against complacency. The Europeans were electric in the 2023 World Cup picking up a win against Fiji (24-23), drawing against Georgia (18-18) and putting in competitive performances in defeat against Wales (28-8) and Australia (34-14).
Lukhanyo Am is back in a Springbok jersey for the first time in a year and he's excited to be a part of such a talented squad ⭐️🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/rEBT0c108c
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 17, 2024
How to watch?
You can catch the game on SuperSport Grandstand (channel 201 on DStv). The build-up will commence at 16:00. The live crossing to the Toyota Stadium will happen at 16:50. There’s plenty of other rugby action on the day too:
- New Zealand v Fiji (04:30)
- Australia v Georgia (07:45)
- Scotland v Chile (21:00)
- Uruguay v Argentina (21:00)
Betting odds
The Springboks are widely expected to win with ease. We make them 37-point favourites to get the job done in Bloemfontein. Take a look at the full match betting and handicaps below:
South Africa SP | Draw 40/1 | Portugal 14/1
Handicap
South Africa (-36.5) 9/10 | Portugal (+36.5) 9/10
Toyota Stadium
The Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein hosted its first Test way back in 1960, with the Springboks drawing 11-11 against New Zealand. The ground is no stranger to major tournament action either having hosted fixtures at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, the 2009 FIFA Confederation Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The most recent Test at the ground saw an experimental Springbok side go down 12-13 against Wales in July 2022. Six players made their Bok debuts on the day: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Evan Roos, Ntuthuko Mnchunu, Ruan Nortje, Deon Fourie and Grant Williams – most of whom would go on to lift the 2023 World Cup.
This is also where Erasmus famously perched himself on the roof, flashing coloured boards and lights to communicate messages to his Free State team.
Rassie Erasmus is back in Bloemfontein where his coaching from the roof of the Toyota Stadium remains one of South African rugby's most iconic sights 🚥💡 pic.twitter.com/Qk4DSi6r24
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2024
Last meeting and head-to-head
The sides have never met before, with Portugal never getting the opportunity to play against Tier 1 opposition outside of the 2007 and 2023 World Cups. Interestingly, an Under-23 South African side played against Portugal in the early 2000s. Try and spot a few of the familiar names from the teamsheet below:
Teams
There are plenty of debutants in the South African ranks. Front rowers Johan Grobberlaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels as well as loose forward Phepsi Buthlezi make their Bok bows in the run-on side. Andre-Hugo Venter, Ruan Venter, Morne van den Berg and Quan Horn make up the remainder of the debutants and all start from the bench.
While a far cry from the nearly 1 000 caps the Boks matchday 23 had last week, there is more than a smattering of experience throughout the side in the form of Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Cobus Reincach and RG Snyman.
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn
Portugal: 15 Simao Bento, 14 Manuel Cardoso Pinto, 13 Jose Lima, 12 Tomas Appleton (c), 11 Rodrigo Marta, 10 Joris Moura, 9 Hugo Camacho, 8 Vasco Baptista, 7 Diego Pinheiro, 6 Jose Maderia, 5 Duarte Torgal, 4 Nicolas Fernandes, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Luka Begic, 1 Francisco Fernandes
Replacements: 16 David Costa, 17 Pedro Vicente, 18 Abel Cunha, 19 Antionio R. Andrade, 20 Andre Cunha, 21 Pedro Lucas, 22 Domingos Cabral, 23 Jose P. Santos
Seven new players could join the Springbok family this weekend 🇿🇦👏 pic.twitter.com/0ANHZfWqgL
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 18, 2024
