Coach Peter de Villiers and the selectors have made six changes, including two positional, to the Springbok starting XV that faced Italy last week for Saturday’s final test of 2009 at Croke Park in Dublin against Ireland.

The Official SA Rugby web site says the following:

In the front row, Tendai Mtawarira returns to the starting XV in place of Wian du Preez and BJ Botha starts at tighthead with captain John Smit moving to hooker in the place of Adriaan Strauss.

Victor Matfield returns to the starting XV, replacing Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger is back at flank with Danie Rossouw moving from the side of the scrum to number eight. There is one change to the backline with Wynand Olivier starting at 12 in place of the injured Adi Jacobs.

There are four more changes on the bench – hooker Bismarck du Plessis and prop CJ van der Linde return from injury, whilst Irish-based centre Jean de Villiers is recalled and flank Dewald Potgieter is included in the Test 22 for the first time.

Smit will equal Percy Montgomery’s record as the most capped Springbok against Ireland (six caps), while Jaque Fourie will equal Jean de Villers’ record as the most capped Springbok centre (43 Tests).

The Springbok team is: (test caps in brackets):

15 Zane Kirchner (3)
14 JP Pietersen (32)
13 Jaque Fourie (53)
12 Wynand Olivier (26)
11 Bryan Habana (56)
10 Morne Steyn (11)
9 Fourie du Preez (54)
8 Danie Rossouw (45)
7 Schalk Burger (54)
6 Heinrich Brüssow (12)
5 Victor Matfield (91)
4 Bakkies Botha (65)
3 BJ Botha (18)
2 John Smit (92) – captain
1 Tendai Mtawarira (21)

Reserves:

16 Bismarck du Plessis (31)
17 CJ van der Linde (57)
18 Andries Bekker (2)
19 Jean Deysel (1)
20 Dewald Potgieter (uncapped)
21 Ruan Pienaar (36)
22 Jean de Villiers (54)

596 Responses to Springbok Team to face Paddies

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  • 151

    Cheers Puma,

    Have a nice evening.

  • 152

    Okay, i’m out as well.

  • 153

    About the Cricket.
    Whats up with AB and Albie, they are both off form at the moment.

  • 154

    Okay i will blow out the candle
    Out too
    Night

  • 155

    An excellent team, and even thou they are tired batter’d and bruised from a long seasson of hard rugby they will win.

    If they were at the beginning of their season they would destroy all in their path.

  • 156

    GO MY EXHAUSTED LITTLE BOKKIES

    Then you can go home and lie in the sun and charge your batterys.

  • 157

    Its a good team, front row should do better.

  • 158

    Puma – think i make more mistakes than you 🙂

    My their and there are always mixed up.
    Have a mental bloke on the theirs/theres 😆

    But so what we not kiddies in a spelling bee.

  • 159

    Hello 4man

  • 160

    158@ Boomninny – What’s a “mental bloke”???

    A mad man?
    Your husband?

    Bwahahaha

  • 161

    Hellooooooooo Sammajooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrr!!!

  • 162

    howzit guys.

    We are warming up for the Baa baas game on the 5th…Londonkeo is assmbling for their AGM at the Fox in Twickenham….winter is seriously here and I am glad for central heating and double glazing.

  • 163

    162@ 4man – It’s damn cool here too… been sitting the whole day working in boxer shorts and a golf shirt, with the Aircon fullblast…. hehehe

  • 164

    Saturday Weather brought to you by the Irish Devil

    Chance of Rain. Partly Cloudy. Low: 2 °C . Wind NE 36 km/h . Chance of precipitation 30% (water equivalent of 3.81 mm). Windchill: 0 °C

  • 165

    Glad to see Wynand gets the start…I think jean is well past his best too….but his excellent rugby brain and those excellent hands still put him up there near the top at first centre.

  • 166

    @163 GBS i was talking to my buddy yesterday, his wife has just gone into hospice, they cant do anything else with Hodgkins disease, his son is off back to NZ and his daughter to Ireland, his Boet is running an oilfield in Syria and he is off the coast of Brazil on a refining rig. We all grew up together in Durban. he asked if I wanted to go and work on rigs…I used to work at Mobil refinery when I was young, the shiftwork suited me so I could go surfing during the day….I’m seriously considering it….5 weeks on 5 weeks off and they fly you anywhere in the world your pay (which is substantial) is tax free into anywhere you want.

  • 167

    The Boks should smoke this pipe, I think I will take a bet with the bookies.

  • 168

    166@ 4man – Eishhhhhhh, no man! Terra Firma at your age is a bonus, with the zimmerframe and all….

  • 169

    GBS…actually I have a bone to pick with you, the day I phoned and you were having a family reunion…you didnt even know who it was!!!

  • 170

    169@ 4man – Of course I knew who it was…. think it was the day we were at my dad’s grave though…

  • 171

    168@ What you talk man….zimmerframe se gat, I rode 15 km’s on my mountain bike on the weekend and walked from the station tonight 3.2 km in 25 mins…there is nothing wrong with my physicality, in fact we can discuss this at 10 metres while free diving, but i suspect you may leave the venue first !!!! 😉

  • 172

    @170 Ja I know kleinboet…just joshing, but you were home already and sitting around the table. Sorry we didnt get together while i was there october, but jis i was ridiculously busy.

  • 173

    171@ 4man – Lets make it at 6500 feet, whilst sky-diving… and see who leaves first…. heehehehe

  • 174

    172@ October was a mad month here too…. was damn busy myself…

  • 175

    @153 – AB will get back into form, Albie is overrated (One of the worst bowlers I’ve ever seen (Morne have a lot of potential as a bowler but is too erratic that can be rectified with a ), and his batting never warranted him a place in the team). I’d bring back Justin Kemp he was the real deal, he could bat properly (Don’t use him as a bowling option however). South Africa should’ve kept Johan Botha there, and recalling Parnell was a good call… Can’t understand why they backed McLaren ahead of him in the first place.

  • 176

    I wish Graham Smiths ous get their act together, i had to eat sh!t at work this week…I just said “check the record” thank heaven none of the poms bother to…the Brits have klapped us 6 love for the last 6 one day games…..dit is uiters k*k hoor.

  • 177

    @173…as you may or may not know I am HALO trained, so lets make it 30,000 ft…and the first one to open has to buy the beers forever.

  • 178

    177@ 4man – O donner – Hehehehe…. I’m only on 20 sec freefall…. bwahahaha

    Did’nt know you were HALO trained…. 30 000 ft is high, 9 klicks up… surely you need air bottle at that height?

  • 179

    Talking about age…hell this year has flown and i hit another milestone in december…I think i will start counting backwards now.

    I see our Westville boy who was banned from rugby for 3 years from Bath, has been offered his place back in 18 months time Matt….I forget his surname….England have got problems, the newspapers are starting to snipe at Johnson now.

  • 180

    179@ 4man – You hitting the big SIX in December??

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