Damian de Allende will make his Springbok debut next to returning national captain Jean de Villiers when South Africa open their Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
Kick-Off is at 17:00 SA Time.
De Villiers is one of three returning Springboks who played no part in the Castle Lager Incoming Series because of injury. The others are Frans Malherbe and Eben Etzebeth, who have both been selected on the bench.
SA Rugby
Junior Springbok captain Handré Pollard will get his second Test cap when he lines up between the experienced De Villiers and Ruan Pienaar, while Willem Alberts and Tendai Mtawarira are also back after missing the Scotland Test because of injuries.
At lock, Lood de Jager will have to fill the considerable boots of the injured Victor Matfield, but he’ll have the experienced Bakkies Botha next to him.
“It’s great to welcome back Jean, Willem, ‘Beast’, Eben and Frans, but I’m also very excited to see what Damian can do after he missed out on making his debut in June because of an injury,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Jean and Damian have played together before, albeit not this way around. But Damian has experience of playing outside centre from his junior days and he got his break at inside centre when he had to step up in Jean’s place.”
“Handré also deserved another opportunity and it will be good to see how he combines with Jean and Damian.”
“Lood has improved a lot over the last couple of months and although it’s a big ask for him to fill the void left by Victor, I know he has the goods to deliver. He will be well-supported by Duane Vermeulen in the line-outs though.”
Meyer moved Jan Serfontein, who had a very good series in June, to the bench as injury cover, with De Villiers and De Allende both returning from injuries, while Morne Steyn will provide back-up at flyhalf and fullback.
“Jan was one of our best players in June, but Jean is our captain and was always going to return once he was fit again,” said Meyer.
“We’re up against a formidable opponent on Saturday and we can’t take any chances or make experiments. The players know they have to be switched on mentally and physically, otherwise it could become a long afternoon at Loftus.”
Pat Lambie will return to Durban on Wednesday to play for the Cell C Sharks in the Absa Currie Cup on Friday evening, when they host the Steval Pumas.
Meyer said: “Pat missed four months of Vodacom Super Rugby and although he made his return towards the end of the competition, it was felt that he could do with game time this weekend before we leave for Argentina and we’d like to thank the Sharks for agreeing to give him a run.”
Springbok team:
15. Willie le Roux (15 tests 35 points)
14. Cornal Hendricks (3 tests 10 points)
13. Damian de Allende (0 tests 0 points)
12. Jean de Villiers (Captain – 96 tests 125 points)
11. Bryan Habana (97 tests 275 points)
10. Handré Pollard (1 test 13 points)
9. Ruan Pienaar (76 tests 130 points)
8. Duane Vermeulen (19 tests 10 points)
7. Willem Alberts (32 tests 35 points)
6. Francois Louw (30 tests 25 points)
5. Lood de Jager (3 tests 10 points)
4. Bakkies Botha (79 tests 35 points)
3. Jannie du Plessis (54 tests 5 points)
2. Bismarck du Plessis (Vice-captain – 60 tests 45 points)
1. Tendai Mtawarira (55 tests 10 points)
Substitutes:
16. Adriaan Strauss (34 tests 25 points)
17. Trevor Nyakane (4 tests 5 points)
18. Frans Malherbe (2 tests 0 points)
19. Eben Etzebeth (23 tests 0 points)
20. Marcell Coetzee (16 tests 10 points)
21. Francois Hougaard (28 tests 20 points)
22. Morné Steyn (56 tests 660 points)
23. Jan Serfontein (12 tests 5 points)
Stats and facts:
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 620 Test caps (288 in the backline and 332 in the forwards), while there a further 175 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa and Argentina have played each other 17 times since 1993, with the Springboks winning 16 Tests and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 682 points and 84 tries and conceded 324 points and 30 tries for an average score of 40-19.
- South Africa and Argentina last met on 24 August 2013 in Mendoza in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship. The Boks beat Argentina 22-17 after trailing 13-17 at half-time. Morné Steyn kicked two penalties in the last ten minutes. This was a week after the Boks beat Argentina 73-13 in Soweto.
- Jean de Villiers will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 81 Tests in this position. He will also captain the Springboks for a 25th time.
- Bryan Habana will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 96 Tests in this position. He will also extend his record of seven career appearances against Argentina and if he scores a try, will extend his record of 55 Test tries for South Africa as well as his Castle Lager Rugby Championship record of 17 tries in this competition.
- If he goes on at flyhalf, Morné Steyn will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok flyhalf, with 54 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will also extend his record of eight Test tries as a flyhalf for South Africa.
- If he scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his own record of nine Test tries for South Africa. Bismarck and his older brother Jannie will extend their record of playing together in 34 Tests for the Springboks. Bismarck, Jannie and Tendai Mtawarira will also extend their record of 16 Tests as a front-row pairing for South Africa.
- Damian de Allende becomes Springbok no. 862.
- The referee is John Lacey of Ireland. This will be his first Test involving South Africa.
Springbok Test match records at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria:
- Most points – 31 by Percy Montgomery (2t, 9c,1p) against Wales on 27 June, 1998.
- Most tries – three by Danie Gerber against South America on 27 March, 1982; by Pieter Rossouw against Wales on 27 June, 1998 and by Bryan Habana against Australia on 29 September, 2012.
- Most conversions – nine by Percy Montgomery on 27 June, 1998.
- Psix by Gerald Bosch against France on 28 June, 1975 and by Braam van Straaten against England on 17 June, 2000.
- Most drop goals – one by six players. The latest was André Pretorius against Australia on 30 July, 2005.
- It will be the Springboks 33rd Test match at Loftus. In the previous 32 Tests the Boks have won 24 and lost eight scoring 1072 points in the process and 650 points against.
@ MacroBok:
I take it this is not a “big game” then ie not that important.
@ gunther:
Just came from my “walk”. Enjoy your run.
Meyer said: “Pat missed four months of Super Rugby and although he made his return towards the end of the competition, it was felt that he could do with game time this weekend before we leave for Argentina and we’d like to thank the Sharks for agreeing to give him a run.”
What about Etzebeth? Beast?
@ Nama:
25
You are toying with words I am afraid 😉
JdV is no good a centre at Test level, JW realised it already 10 years ago
@ Nama:
HM has become an expert at selecting
3.
@ Nama:
33
HM forgot to mention ‘Pat made the SR Semi and Final though’ 😉
Attribute it to a stronger than the usual 50/50 ‘cocktail’ that may have caused memory lapses 😆 😆 😆
Even JdV and De Allende will be acceptable against the Argies’ Tests, HM is clearly not concerned for now
@ Tuff Gong:
Ag, De Allende can go through as another. He has the accent. So, it’s 4 now.
There is good reasoning for putting JDV between the two less experienced players at 10 and 13. If he played 13 you would have Pollard net to De Allende and that may be a bot too much pressure.
JDV is a massive stabilising influence, and Meyer knows what he is doing.
@ Stormersboy:
“…there is no way that HM will play two rookies (Pollard and De Allende) next to each other.”
What I said in my 1st post (#13). Still does not take away the fact that De Allende is an unknown entity at 13 and that some others who were selected in that position, out of their regular positions, like Taute and JJ were found wanting on defence. Even JdV, at first, and JPP struggled with their defence at 13.
Let’s keep that in mind IF De Allende leaves a few holes in that channel.
Nama wrote:
Sure, but Damian is one of the better defenders out there, JJ and Jan have always had a very leaky defense.
Still, it is a small gamble.
Nama wrote:
Lol…
Good thing he did not get a bursary to go the Bishops as he might have lost the accent and then it was only 3.
@ robzim:
De Allende is “Millerton” born and bred.
16 @ Nama:
you’re spot on nama… and heyneke knows it too…
just as stormersboy says, he wants idv to calm and guide both youngsters…
.
from the heyneke’s mouth…
“Damian really impressed me in Super Rugby. I like his mental toughness, and he also has skilful attributes,” Meyer said.
“Working with him over the last few weeks, I’ve really been impressed by his soft touches. He is a big guy but runs beautiful lines and he is good enough to get the ball away.
“We haven’t settled on an outside centre yet. Jean can play there and Damian is a great inside but I just felt, with Handre Pollard playing, Jean’s best position is at inside where he is closer to the contact and can make the calls.”
@ Nama:
At least he is a proper centre unlike JJ and Taute.
That’s a good start.
😆
@ ufo: Having watched him in practices he has always impressed me, more than Taute for example. Both are really big guys, but Damian is the real deal.
@ Stormersboy:
yeah bud… really impresses me too… way more than taute…
and as gunther says… he is a genu-ine centre…
and damian gets across the gainline perhaps more than any other other centres in sa at the moment…
really looking forward to see how he goes…
ufo wrote:
Great words? Hey what was his words to Jan Serfontein then?
Remember i was always against a captain playing just for his “so called captaincy skills” I believed and still believe that a Springbok team must be your best in every position. From that you pick your Captain. Forfeiting a position before you run on is like giving yourself a yellow card from scratch.
“He is a big guy but runs beautiful lines” i agree, but will he be made to run crash ball all day? Will his beautiful lines be coached out of him.
ufo wrote:
This is a fatal statement if HM has not turned the page. Hope we get stiff oposition in the first half to test us before the real big games.
“where he is closer to the contact and can make the calls” Good grief, do you ever think a All Black coach will utter these words. What the heck must Pollard do then? No instinctive play from you Boy, let the Captain tell you what , where and when.
goeie bok span, vir die wat belang stel, die naweek speel aliwal-noord en burgersdorp in die jaarlikse interskole, dit sal die 100ste keer wees wat hulle speel, ek dink nie baie ander skole kan met so n ryk rugby tradiesie spog nie
@ gunther:
A retreaded wing actually. But I get your drift.
Even if it does not pan out like that , do you also believe that HM is talking way too much. Every week this and that guy is the very best that ever placed a foot on a rugby field. OK it must make the chosen guy feel great. But what off the player that is left out.
I liked HM quieter years when he had great success with the Bulls. The talking was done inside the change room and executed on the field.
He needs a press representative. He fuels the opposition with his blind faith in every new guy that he picks.
Bly net still en verminder jou gepraat Heynecke, jy maak my bang. Daai eier in jou gesig is nie wat ek wil sien nie. Ons afrigters moet gevreesd en met respek bejeen word. Jy is halfpad daar. Kry net die All Black bogey van jou skouers af.
I like the look of this team – it was very much what I was expecting.
And I feel the way most feel about Ruan. But with Fdup out, Ruan was always going to start – he wants the experience there with a rookie at 10.
The one disappointment for me was seeing Hougaard on the bench. HM has stated that he sees him as a wing come scrumhalf. I would much rather have seen Reinach on the bench.
New Zealand’s fit-again Conrad Smith has returned at centre while Wyatt Crockett has replaced the injured Tony Woodcock at loosehead prop for their opening Rugby Championship match against Australia on Saturday.
Smith and Crockett were the only two changes made by coach Steve Hansen in the All Blacks starting side for the game in Sydney from their last Test against England.
“It was a tough team to select in many ways because we have a lot of players in good form.
“But in the end we selected the group that we felt could get the job done,” Hansen said.
Loose forward Liam Messam needs more time to recover from his gruelling Super Rugby campaign while prop Charlie Faumuina was a late withdrawal due to an illness.
“He (Messam) had another heavy workload during the Super Rugby campaign and we felt that giving him another week off would be the best thing,” Hansen said.
“He will come back in contention for selection next week.”
Ben Smith was rewarded for some excellent form and was given the nod ahead of Israel Dagg at fullback.
“While we have been very happy with Israel Dagg’s performances at 15, Ben has come in and raised the bar to another level,” Hansen added.
“The challenge for Israel now is to get his performances – when he gets the opportunity – to an even higher level.”
Teams:
Australia:
15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper
Substitutes (one to be omitted): 16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Scott Higginbotham, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Bernard Foley, 24 Tevita Kuridrani
New Zealand:
15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa
@ Nama:
49
De Allende is a far better wing than what Aplon or Colby could ever be 😆
He is also a far superior centre than JdJ
Which makes him by default a Super Back by Stormers’ standards?
😆
De Allende gaan gatskop, geen twyfel!
GBS en ek het al jaar gelede daaroor gesels, hierdie man is n breker, hy gaan volgende jaar n kernrol he in ons wereldbeker aanslag.
@ superBul:
52
The ABs will need to run Peyper thru the Polygraph prior to the Test if they intend to win?
2 good reasons:
1. SARU would badly like to see the ABs beaten and Peyper got the message
2. Australia have more dough to smooth things than the cash strapped NZRU
The odds makers made it a near 1:2 to the ABs, but they don’t much know about Little Jaco I guess?
😆
54 @ Pietman:
Janee, De Allende gaan behoorlik gatskop!
Onder omstandighede ‘n blerrie goeie span.
Hoop van daai Sharks is nou uitgerus en behoorlik verfris!
Hoop Jean de Villiers is nie verroes nie en ek hoop Ruan Pienaar het opdrag om die balle vinnig te versprei.
@ grootblousmile:
Kyk gou op jou facebook , die robbery by Sahara , ons was mos saam daar lank terug?
Hopefully our forwards will work together and give Pienaar some clean ball this time and not force him to dig for every second ball.
@ Hondo:
Does Jaco answer to SARU or the highest bidder? It always changes lol
57 @ superBul:
Gesien.
Daai gebouingang is daar digby die N1 in Midrand…. maar om daar in te kom moes hulle verby die ingang van ‘n Secure Business Park met kameras wat die voertuie afneem soos hulle in en uit, dan moes hulle verby die dodgy hekwagte daar by Sahara, en dan so 200m ondertoe (Snelweg se kant toe) beweeg en dan om die draai na daai gebouingang.
Watookal die geval, dis ‘n inside job wat beplan is saam met hekwagte of dalk die Guptas self.
Ek sien daar word beweer 32 Gold bars is ook gesteel… fokkit!
Ek was veronderstel om vanoggend Midrand toe te gaan en onder andere by Sahara aan te doen… kon in die middel van die kak beland het, maar gelukkig het my dag na kak gedraai en is ek toe nooit Midrand toe nie. Nou gaan sekuriteit seker more weer so vol kak wees dat ons almal wag en wag en wag!
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