Moodie injury forces Springboks to hand Ethan Hooker a Test start against Scotland

Ethan Hooker will make his Test start for South Africa after Canan Moodie was ruled out of the Springboks’ match against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, head coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed. The Sharks back is the sole change to the side named earlier in the week by the world champions.

The late enforced reshuffle mirrors one made in the Scotland camp, where lock Alex Samuel has been sidelined by a knee injury, with Max Williamson called onto the bench as cover.

Erasmus played down any concern about the disruption, pointing to the depth available in his squad. “We have good depth in our squad, and this will be a great test for the team,” he said. “We told the players from the outset that we would give as many of them a chance as possible to play this season, while we are also trying to manage some players, while others are not available for selection this week, so it was important to select a team with some continuity from last week, while bringing in players we believe will be the right fit for what we are expecting from Scotland.”

The Springboks coach was measured in his assessment of the visitors, who arrive in Pretoria in form. “They had a good Six Nations campaign, and they come off a victory against Argentina away, so they will be psyched up going into this match,” Erasmus said. “All of the players have been working extremely hard at training, and they are fully aware of the threat Scotland poses. Many of these combinations have played together for the Springboks and for their provincial teams this season.”

Updated Springboks team to face Scotland:

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter.

Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Quan Horn.