Heinrich Brüssow
The Springbok team to face New Zealand’s All Blacks for the 90th time shows 9 changes to the match-23 which did duty against Australia’s Wallabies, for the 2nd match in the condensed Castle Lager Rugby Championship, at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Heinrich Brüssow will make his 1st start for the Springboks since the 2011 Rugby World Cup, while Vincent Koch has been included on the bench for what could be his Test debut for South Africa.
JP Pietersen, who was initially picked on the right wing, has since starined his hamstring in training and is replaced on right wing by Cornal Hendricks, with Lionel Mapoe replacing Cornal Hendricks’ place on the bench.
Of the 9 changes, 3 are to the pack, 1 to the backline and 5 are on the bench. The backline is unchanged. Schalk Burger will captain the team from No 8.
Francois Louw will start in the No 7 jersey for the injured Marcell Coetzee in a positional change, with Heinrich Brüssow assuming the openside role (No 6). The only other changes to the starting line-up is at lock, where Lood de Jager takes over from Victor Matfield and on right wing where Cornal Hendricks will do duty.
On the bench, Vincent Koch will be joined by Lionel Mapoe, Trevor Nyakane, Flip van der Merwe and Warren Whiteley, who could make his 1st Test appearance in South Africa, in front of his home crowd in Johannesburg.
“Injuries have forced our hand a bit, but we’ve stuck with our planned rotational policy on the bench and it will be great to see what Heinrich, Vincent and Flip can do,” said Meyer.
“The breakdown battle will again be huge and it will be good to see Heinrich and Francois play together. They are versatile players and I am convinced they will combine perfectly.
“Heinrich has been great this season before he got injured and played his way into contention. As with other players returning from injury in Vodacom Super Rugby, he deserves an opportunity. We decided it was better to start with him and use Warren as an impact player later in the match.
“It’s also great to see Flip back in the fold. We had a look at Pieter-Steph du Toit but he is not yet 100% match-ready, and Franco Mostert was also discussed but in the end we decided to go with Flip as he will add valuable experience to our bench.
“We planned to bring Trevor, Warren and Cornal back for this match. Trevor and Warren have been playing great rugby this season and Cornal is a superb finisher, as he’s shown so often last year.”
Pietersen strained his hamstring at Wednesday’s training session at St Peter’s College and will not be available to face the All Blacks. As a result, Cornal Hendricks will start at right wing, with Mapoe coming onto the bench.
“It’s a huge setback to lose JP for a big match such as this one as he has been in good form and brings valuable experience to our backline, but Cornal played against the All Blacks last year, scored a brilliant try in Wellington and is raring to go,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Lionel was not available for selection because of injury when we got together as a squad a few weeks ago and Jesse Kriel grabbed his opportunity with both hands. That is why I am delighted that Lionel is now getting his chance.
“We had a number of options on the bench, but decided on Lionel as he covers wing and outside centre, which is what we had in JP.”
Meyer said that the Springboks faced a huge challenge on Saturday as they continue to build towards the Rugby World Cup against a fired-up Kiwi side.
“This will be a massive Test – every match against the All Blacks is,” said Meyer.
“We played some great rugby last weekend, but this week we have to put in an 80-minute effort. We have to be especially focused in the last 10 minutes, because New Zealand always finish strongly. They travelled here with us so that negates any advantage we could’ve had at the end of the match.
“The challenge will also be to make a step up in vital areas of the game and get back on the winning track. By not making too many changes this week, we’re giving some combinations the opportunity to settle a bit more. Our youngsters will have to put up their hands on Saturday – I would not have selected them if I didn’t believe they can do the job.”
Springbok Team (Test Caps & Test Points Scored in Brackets):
15 Willie le Roux – Toyota Cheetahs (26, 35)
14 Cornal Hendricks – Toyota Cheetahs (11, 25)
13 Jesse Kriel – Vodacom Bulls (1, 5)
12 Damian de Allende – DHL Stormers (4, 0)
11 Bryan Habana – Toulon (107, 285)
10 Handré Pollard – Vodacom Bulls (10, 75)
9 Ruan Pienaar (Vice-captain) – Ulster (81, 135)
8 Schalk Burger (Captain) – DHL Stormers (76, 70)
7 Francois Louw – Bath (35, 25)
6 Heinrich Brüssow – Toyota Cheetahs (20, 5)
5 Lood de Jager – Toyota Cheetahs (10, 10)
4 Eben Etzebeth – DHL Stormers (34, 5)
3 Jannie du Plessis – Cell C Sharks (63, 5)
2 Bismarck du Plessis – Cell C Sharks (71, 45)
1 Tendai Mtawarira – Cell C Sharks (65, 10)
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss – Vodacom Bulls (45, 25)
17 Trevor Nyakane – Vodacom Bulls (12,, 5)
18 Vincent Koch – DHL Stormers (0, 0)
19 Flip van der Merwe – Vodacom Bulls (35, 5)
20 Warren Whiteley – Emirates Lions (2, 0)
21 Cobus Reinach – Cell C Sharks (7, 10)
22 Pat Lambie – Cell C Sharks (41, 106)
23 Lionel Mapoe – Emirates Lions (0, 0)
Stats and facts:
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 614 Test caps (240 in the backline and 374 in the forwards), while there are a further 142 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa and New Zealand have played each other 89 times since 1921, with the Springboks winning 35, losing 51 and three were drawn. The Springboks have scored 1,392 points and 137 tries and conceded 1,718 points and 177 tries for an average score of 16-19.
- South Africa and New Zealand last met on 4 October 2015 at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks beat New Zealand by 27-25 thanks to a late 55 metre penalty from the boot of replacement flyhalf Patrick Lambie.
- Schalk Burger will become South Africa’s 55th Springbok captain in history.
- Bryan Habana will extend his own record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 106 caps in this position. If he scores a try he will extend his own record of 57 Test tries for South Africa as well as most Test tries against New Zealand (7) and the Castle Lager Rugby Championship record of 18 tries.
- If he scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine Test tries for South Africa as a hooker. He will also extend his SA record of 40 Tests (22 in the starting line-up) with his brother Jannie and 17 Tests with Jannie and Tendai Mtawarira as the starting front row pairing for SA.
- If they goes on, Vincent Koch and / or Lionel Mapoewill become Springbok #868 in history and the other will become #869.
- It will be Heyneke Meyer’s 39th Test in charge of the Springboks since he took over in 2012. Of the previous 38 Tests South Africa have won 26, lost ten and drew twice. He is 3rd now on the all-time list with only Peter de Villiers (48) and Jake White (54) in front of him.
- The referee is Jerome Garces of France. It will be his 5th Test involving South Africa. Of the previous 4 South Africa have won 3 and lost 1. His last appearance was in November 2014 against Italy in Padova when the Boks won 22 / 6.
Springbok Test match records at Emirates Airline Park (Ellis Park) in Johannesburg:
- Most points: 28 by Gavin Johnson (3t, 5c,1p) against Samoa on 13 April, 1995
- Most tries: 4 by Chester Williams against Samoa on 10 June, 1995 and by Jongi Nokwe against Australia on 30 August, 2008
- Most conversions: 9 by Butch James against Argentina on 9 August, 2008
- Most penalty goals: 6 by Percy Montgomery against France on 16 June, 2001 and by Louis Koen against Scotland on 14 June, 2003
- Most drop goals: 2 by Joel Stransky against New Zealand on 24 June, 1995 and by Jannie de Beer against New Zealand on 19 July, 1997
Date: Saturday 25 July
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-Off: 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, Sunday 03:05 NZ Time)
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
😆
It all depends on your motives for asking that question.
61 @ MacroPolo:
No ulterior motive at all.
I thought I had read that he had broke an arm, and honestly can’t recall having seen him on a Rugby field for an age.
I rate him highly, but would just question playing anyone not match fit against a marauding All Black team.
@ Scrumdown:
I honestly find the match fitness or match sharpness thing quite tidious, and it is an argument or debate best suited in hindsight (and obviously differs between player to player).
Considering how Lood performed was quite exceptional after only the 9 minutes he played this entire year till the test match, admittedly, having to play 60 minutes could have been a big unexpected ask of him.
Now if he was not good, the excuse would be that he was not match fit, but he had such an energetic performance it pretty much shut all of us up.
Last year the excuses went on for quite a few games that Eben Etsebeth’s form was poor because he was not “match fit”.
Like I said it differs from player to player, but is an easy excuse for poor form, could happen to players with 1000 minutes too.
63 @ MacroPolo:
All valid points, and I’m sure that the “rush” of international Rugby should, to a large extent negate any “rustiness”, but……………….
Let’s see what happens.
I fear for the Bokke this weekend.
60 @ Scrumdown:
Problem with Brüssow, as Heyneke Meyer explained (not in this article but elsewhere in the news threads on the web)… is that he is no longer contracted to any SA side, so could not be sent back to gain some match fitness at the Free State Cheetahs, whereas Jean de Villiers is still contracted to WP, that being the reason he is slowly brought back through 2 Currie Cup warm-up games.
I agree with you however, and with Heyneke Meyer… who also says he’s taking a huge gamble on Brüssow!
Now if it was me a few weeeks ago, Brüssow would not have been in the Springbok group, but rather Jaco Kriel, who’s been all action the whole flippen season. So, I would have had Flo at No 6 and Jaco Kriel at No 7.
But maybe all of us are selling Heinrich Brüssow short and he surprises us all with a monster show tomorrow!
Last year and the year before I noticed some obvious weaknesses in the All Blacks total package… but they worked hard on all those weaknesses and I have trouble finding ANY weaknesses now.
Their scrums are bloody good (they were all over the Pumas), their lineouts have improved, their tight five is now a powerhouse tight five, their hooker is a busy and nuggety chap who also feeds lineouts well, their loosies are magnificent. Their Scrumhalf is currently the best scrummie in world rugby and he’s playing next to his Highlanders flyhalf partner who had a monster season for the Landers.
The midfield combination is just sublime and the back 3 will run you ragged from anywhere if you kick down their throats.
If they have 1 weakness, it is against the maul from lineouts close to their goal line, as we saw the Pumas do twice last week, with both resulting in tries to Agustine Creevy.
Second possible weakness is that both Franks brothers as well as Tony Woodcock… and often enough Richie McCaw & Aaron Smith too, often give penalties away… very often in their own 22, rather than concede a try against their All Blacks team…. so the Bokke MUST punish every indiscretion and goal kicking will have to be spot-on.
Against the All Blacks you HAVE TO play possession rugby and you somehow HAVE TO dominate the breakdowns, no chance to just play expansive rugby against them because they will just play more expansive than you are able to play. One has to keep it tight against the buggers and not kick possession away and if you kick you better make damn sure it goes out and into the crowd, so that they cannot play a quick-throw lineout.
Having a loose trio which all play or played Openside Flank (Brüssow & Flo are still both opensiders and Schalla used to play No 6 for years and years) will greatly assist in playing towards the ball, add Bismarck to that mix and you have 4 forwards who play hard towards the ball, so I’m hoping the Bokke dominate the breakdowns well enough and do not give away too many penalties at the breakdowns.
Can the Springboks play the game I have just described…. no, I do not think so.
So, I also think the Bokke are up against a brick wall this weekend.
65 @ grootblousmile:
So what to do for Superbru?
Wet underfoot and by kick off time a rather cold temperature.
66 @ Scrumdown:
I’ve picked already, and I went head over heart.
Scrumdown wrote:
Well like i said earlier in the post. I fear as well… Just forget the backline. That tight 5 of theirs is flippen scary.
A mouth watering confrontation this will be.
Let us “analise” the head to head match ups:
The Front Rows………………………………No advantage to either Team…….evens.
2nd Row……………………………………..SA should have a very very slight advantage here, based on experience. ……………1 point SA.
Loosies………………………….Your Old Capt Crock, cancels out our Old Capt Crock,…………..evens.
Halves………………..The most interesting aspect of the game….SA experience – Vs- NZ Debutant and Master of Ceremonies……….1 point NZ.
Mid-field…………Advantage NZ ……………………….3 points.
Back three…………………..Far from NZ’s best options here…………………Evens.
Overall scrum advantage……………………Evens.
Overall Lineout advantage………………….2 points NZ…………………….this is not normally the case. But Reid seals it for NZ.
Overall Goal kicking advantage…………………Who knows…………unknown. But perhaps, given local knowledge……….4 points SA.
Home Town advantage:……………………………….SA……………..4 points.
Altitude:………………………….SA……… 2 points.
Match Officials:…………………………………………Who knows. Frogs, Paddy’s and Poms…………….Assistant Referee: Romain Poite could be the wild card here.
The above equates to 7 point win to SA.
💡 💡 ➡
🙂 ❗ 👿 😛 Yeah Right.
In see I scored the 69er.
Skim would be very impressed.
Oooops……………………………………..I forgot to include the bench in my points for and against:
Both Benches very strong ………………………….but perhaps advantage NZ by 1.5 points.
SA now to win by 5.5 points
And do I really think SA will win by 5.5 points…………………………………………………..Nah.
😉
I took the easy way out and went with the wifey’s choice. Although she doesn’t play Superbru, gives me hell if I don’t ask her and I get it wrong. She will then give me 100 reasons why I should have picked the other way.
@ cane:
I’ll wave to you from the south stand mate, underneath the Touchdown Restaurant…very top row…last seat on the right hand side (my left hand neighbour will be filming the action for you)!!!
Goooooooooooo Rugby!!!!!!!!
cane wrote:
He is eatingda cheeken!
Pietman’s three favourite rugby personalities:
(In no particular order…I hasten to add)
Cheeky Watson
Jake White
Stephen Moore
@ BrumbiesBoy:
Enjoy the match bruvva! I will be looking out for you underneath Touchdown!
Hope you will see a number of Pollard kicks successfully flying through there!
BrumbiesBoy wrote:
Don’t forget that short little fetcher from “The Planet of the Apes”, Cape Town’s favorite son, the one who nearly got married to Ross Skeate….
Pietman wrote:
Not if I can shift them enough I won’t!
78 @ Pietman:
You got me there, who’s that?
Pietman wrote:
Vomit Watson?
@ Victoriabok:
Ah, probably!
One of my most hated players used to play wing for the Cheetahs
A blonde d**s with a muisgevreet called Phillip Burger
I couldn’t stand him
Outta here, cheers for now.
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