Erasmus names Springboks to face All Blacks with du Toit captaining and de Allende reaching 100 caps

Rassie Erasmus has named his South Africa starting XV for Saturday’s Greatest Rivalry series opener against New Zealand at Ellis Park, with Pieter-Steph du Toit leading the side in the absence of regular captain Siya Kolisi and Damian de Allende poised to win his 100th international cap.

The selection is largely as expected, but the tighthead prop position produced the one genuine surprise: Wilco Louw gets the nod ahead of Thomas du Toit, who misses out entirely. The six-cap Zachary Porthen is named among the replacements as cover in that position.

There had been considerable debate over the half-back pairing, and Erasmus has settled on Grant Williams at scrum-half alongside Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fly-half. De Allende, who will earn his century of caps at inside centre, is the milestone man of the occasion.

“We are all very excited for Damian, and to achieve this milestone in this series makes it even more special,” Erasmus said. “He’s a great team man, and servant to the game, so we hope we can make it a memorable day for him. That said, his focus all week has only been on this match, and he will certainly not let the occasion shadow what he has to do on the field.”

Erasmus, who broke from his usual practice by naming his team after his opposite number Dave Rennie had already announced the All Blacks squad, struck a cautious note about the challenge ahead.

“They are a quality team and they’re very well coached, so we are preparing for an 80-minute grind,” he said. “They have a well-rounded squad with physical forwards and an exciting backline, so we have to be sharp and accurate in our execution from the outset. Many of the matches between the sides have come down to the wire, so it’s important that we use the chances we create and ensure that our discipline is on point.”

South Africa XV: 15 Damian Willemse; 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams; 1 Ox Nche, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Paul de Villiers, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 8 Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.