Erasmus keeps faith with settled Boks for France, leaving fit-again Etzebeth out of 23

Rassie Erasmus has left fit-again lock Eben Etzebeth out of his 23-man South Africa squad for Friday’s Test against France at the Stade de France, making just two changes from the side that beat Italy 66-7 in Turin last week.

Etzebeth, who has 147 caps, arrived in France on Monday following a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, but Erasmus has opted to ease the veteran back in rather than rush him straight into a matchday squad. Franco Mostert retains the second-row cover role on a six-two bench alongside Cameron Hanekom and Paul de Villiers, with Lood de Jager and Ruan Nortje continuing as the starting locks.

The two alterations to the squad are both rotational in nature. Wilco Louw is promoted into the starting front row in place of Thomas du Toit, who drops to the bench, after impressing off the bench against Italy. Cobus Reinach comes in among the replacements at the expense of Grant Williams.

The backline is entirely unchanged, with Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu retaining the half-back jerseys after strong performances against Italy. Ethan Hooker, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse form the back three. Sixteen members of the 23 also featured when South Africa beat France 32-17 in Paris last year.

“We said from the outset that we would not rotate too much on this tour, so it was always our intention to select a settled squad for this game to build momentum in the competition,” Erasmus said. “Most of these players have faced France at home and know what to expect from them, and they have also experienced their passionate and vocal crowd first-hand.”

On the decision to leave Etzebeth out, Erasmus was measured: “Eben just arrived in France, and although we know what he brings to the team, we feel it would be better for him to get back into the swing of things this week after some time on the sidelines. Lood and Franco are also very experienced players and they have been training with us for almost two weeks now — they’ve both faced France in high-pressure matches and delivered.”

Erasmus framed the contest as a high-stakes meeting between two sides with genuine ambitions at the top of the world rankings. France currently lead the northern hemisphere standings and sit fourth in the world, while South Africa are working to protect their own position in the Nations Championship standings.

“Matches between us and France are always intense, and this week will be no different,” Erasmus said. “Both teams have everything to play for.”