Kolisi bracketed as injury toll forces Erasmus into four Springbok changes for All Blacks rematch

Rassie Erasmus has made four changes to his South Africa starting XV for the second Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town, with injuries to Cheslin Kolbe and Grant Williams forcing his hand after the Springboks’ 33-16 defeat in the first Test at Ellis Park.

Kolbe and Williams are both ruled out with niggles sustained last weekend, bringing Ethan Hooker in at left wing and Cobus Reinach in at scrum-half. The fourth change sees Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu drop to the bench, with Handre Pollard restored to the starting fly-half berth.

The most unusual element of the selection concerns captain Siya Kolisi. Erasmus has named him at blindside flanker but has bracketed him alongside Paul de Villiers, a seldom-used device that gives the coaching staff the week to assess Kolisi’s recovery from a hamstring injury before committing to a final decision. The move is notable given Erasmus’ long-standing principle that a player must be able to train on Monday to be considered for the weekend.

“Cheslin and Grant suffered niggles last weekend, which ruled them out of contention for selection, while we have bracketed Siya alongside Paul to allow us time to monitor how Siya comes through training this week,” Erasmus said.

“The changes we made are in line with what we want to achieve on the field this week, and it is valuable that almost all of the players have been involved in the last two games, so they will be able to cope with the intensity and physicality of this match.”

Pieter-Steph du Toit retains the captaincy in Kolisi’s absence from the confirmed XV, with the rest of the backline and front row unchanged from the Ellis Park defeat.

South Africa XV: 15 Damian Willemse; 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker; 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach; 1 Ox Nche, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Siya Kolisi / Paul de Villiers, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 8 Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.