There are five changes in the pack as Bismarck du Plessis is partnered with the returning Tendai Mtawarira and Bismarck’s brother Jannie du Plessis in an all-Sharks front row. The final change among the forwards sees the return of Heinrich Brüssow to the back row.
Victor Matfield will captain the Springbok team to play Samoa in the deciding Rugby World Cup Pool D clash at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on Friday.
Matfield returns from a hamstring strain – after a two-match absence – as one of seven changes to the team that defeated Namibia 87-0 at the same venue on Thursday.
He assumes the captaincy in place of John Smit, who drops to the bench, in a pre-planned move to allow Bismarck du Plessis to start his first match of the tournament.
The Springboks need at least one point from the match to be sure of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Bakkies Botha was unavailable for selection after injuring a hamstring against Namibia but the remaining four forwards ( John Smit, CJ van der Linde, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Willem Alberts) all drop to the bench.
JP Pietersen and Fourie du Preez return to the starting line-up among the back division while the versatile Francois Hougaard drops to the bench where he is joined by the fit-again Jean de Villiers as the two backline replacements in a 5/2 split on the bench.
Friday’s match kicks off at 09:30 SA Time (29:30 NZ Time).
South Africa v Samoa, 30 September 2011, North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
15 Pat Lambie (KwaZulu-Natal) – 9 caps, 2 RWC caps
14 JP Pietersen (KwaZulu-Natal) – 40, 9
13 Jaque Fourie (Western Province) – 67, 13
12 Frans Steyn (Racing Metro, France) – 46, 10
11 Bryan Habana (Western Province) – 72, 9
10 Morné Steyn (Blue Bulls) – 32, 3
9 Fourie du Preez (Blue Bulls) – 60, 9
8 Pierre Spies (Blue Bulls) – 45, 3
7 Schalk Burger (Western Province) – 66, 11
6 Heinrich Brüssow (Free State) – 18, 3
5 Victor Matfield (captain, Blue Bulls) – 108, 12
4 Danie Rossouw (Blue Bulls) – 61, 13
3 Jannie du Plessis (KwaZulu-Natal) – 28, 4
2 Bismarck du Plessis (KwaZulu-Natal) – 40, 7
1 Tendai Mtawarira (KwaZulu-Natal) – 31, 3
Replacements
16 John Smit (KwaZulu-Natal) – 109, 15
17 Gurthrö Steenkamp (Blue Bulls) – 36, 5
18 CJ van der Linde (Golden Lions) – 73, 7
19 Willem Alberts (KwaZulu-Natal) – 7, 3
20 Francois Louw (Bath, England) – 9, 2
21 Francois Hougaard (Blue Bulls) – 13, 3
22 Jean de Villiers (Western Province) – 70, 2
Any surprizes?
Samoa captain Mahonri Schwalger believes the key to Friday’s must-win match with South Africa is all in the mind.
“I think it is all about attitude. The team that turns up with the right attitude will probably come up on top,” Schwalger said on Tuesday.
“We have to make sure these guys are cranked up for Friday.”
The trouble is, having the right attitude hasn’t always come easy for the Samoans.
“The World Cup, you can’t go half-hearted. You can’t have the attitude that you are going to come second,” said Schwalger. “I have said before it is all about attitude and it is something we need to work on.
“I think the issue has always been belief, whether or not we actually believe we can roll with these big guys,” added Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu. “But now I think the belief is there, we just need to have that execution.”
I think the Rugby world is talking up the Samoans for this game.
The result shouldn’t even be a talking point. The Boks should win by at least 20 points. If they don’t they will have underperformed on the day.
This is a VERY GOOD Springbok team. The only player who hasn’t yet performed to his potential IMO is Pat Lambie. He needs to express himself a bit more.
I think we’ll win comfortably.
@ Scrumdown:
The win they got against Australia is blurring many peoples perspective. They played a fast asleep Australian B team and the Aussies have shown since that they are easily rattled.
@ Scrumdown:
I agree. Win by 20 with a bonus point.
Almost the strongest possible Bokke team in New Zealand!
I would say Gurthro would be stronger than Beast by a whisker… and of course there is the open question as to a chioce between Danie Pakslae and Bakkies at No 4, if and when Bakkies is injury free.
So, in the strongest side (after this game), swap Francois Louw for Bakkies / Danie Pakslae….. and swop places between Beast and Gurthro… that should do the trick.
Sadly, Bissie will not start after this….
This run on team has 39 RWC tries between them.
@ Scrumdown:
Well said scrummie! It’s just media sensationalism to give the Samoans even a chance of upsetting this Bok team in a match of this importance.
Geez, but the Boks are really missing Bekker now. We have the top 3 locks in the world and all 3 are injured!
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