Willemse injury forces Kolbe to full-back as Springboks make four changes for third All Blacks Test

Damian Willemse has been ruled out of Saturday’s third Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Johannesburg, forcing Rassie Erasmus into four changes to the Springbok XV for the final match of the Greatest Rivalry series at FNB Stadium. Cheslin Kolbe shifts from the wing to full-back to cover the absence, with Kurt-Lee Arendse returning to the starting line-up on the flank.

Willemse was withdrawn at half-time during South Africa’s victory in Cape Town last weekend and has not recovered in time to feature. Erasmus also confirmed that fly-half Handré Pollard remains unavailable, meaning Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu retains the number ten jersey.

The other three changes are concentrated in the front row, where Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw all come back into the starting XV in place of Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit — a rotation that Erasmus said had always been part of the original plan before last week’s late reshuffle.

“It was always our plan to have a little more continuity in player combinations for this series,” Erasmus said. “Unfortunately, Damian Willemse took a knock in the first half and was not available for selection this weekend, and neither was Handré Pollard. By sticking to these combinations and making one switch with Cheslin at fullback, we thought it would be the best for this match.”

Erasmus also paid tribute to Arendse, who missed out last week after Kolbe recovered from a minor knock. “Kurt-Lee was unlucky not to play last week. He is a quality player and his 25 tries in 33 matches so far shows the type of player he is.”

One note of caution surrounds the named line-up: Erasmus has a well-established habit of adjusting his selections as the week progresses and even on matchday itself, so the XV announced may not be the one that ultimately takes the field.

South Africa XV: 15 Cheslin Kolbe; 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker; 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach; 1 Ox Nche, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 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 Manie Libbok.