11 XV changes for the Springboks who also go with 7/1 bench split

Rassie Erasmus has announced a Springboks line-up to take on Scotland that has 11 changes from their last outing six weeks ago.

South Africa clinched The Rugby Championship title with a 48-7 win over Argentina in Mbombela on September 28 and their Autumn Nations Series return to action in Edinburgh on Sunday comes with an XV showing six switches in the backs and five more in the pack.

Scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse is the only backline starter retained from the title-clinching win over the Pumas as Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi and Handre Pollard have all been included to start.

Up front, loosehead Ox Nche, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and lock Eben Etzebeth are the three repeats, with Etzebeth skippering the side in the absence of Siya Kolisi, the regular skipper who on this occasion forms part of a seven-one forwards/backs bench split. Grant Williams is the only specialist back providing cover.

Explaining his lop-sided bench, Erasmus said: “This is a seasoned and quality team and adding to that 21 of the 23 players have won a Rugby World Cup title, with some having won two, so they know what it takes to perform at this level.

“Many of these combinations have also played together this season, which will be valuable against a quality team such as Scotland. We are expecting an extremely physical match, so we opted for a seven-one split of forwards on the bench, and this was aided by the fact that we have such versatile players in the backline, who can cover different positions if necessary.”

Regarding Kwagga Smith, who is poised for his 5oth cap, the head coach added: “Kwagga is a vastly talented player and a fantastic team member, and I’m delighted to see him reach this big career milestone.

"It takes a special player who performs consistently well over a few years to reach this achievement, and Kwagga has certainly done so while maintaining the same high standards at training and on the field. We are very proud of him.”

South Africa (vs Scotland, Sunday)

15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 97 caps, 75 pts (15t)

14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 25 pts (5t)

13 – Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 40 caps, 35 pts (7t)

12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) - 18 caps, 0 pts

11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 45 caps, 150 points (30t)

10 – Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 77 caps, 755 points (7t, 105c, 165p, 5dg)

9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 18 caps, 19 pts (2t, 3c, 1p)

8 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 49 caps, 45 points (9t)

7 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 10 caps, 0 points

6 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 23 caps, 10 pts (2t)

5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 76 caps, 15 points (3t)

4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 128 caps, 30 points (6t)

3 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 21 caps, 0 pts

2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 75 caps, 75 points (15t)

1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 37 caps, 0 points

Replacements:

16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 73 caps, 105 points (21t)

17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 0 points

18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 58 caps, 0 points

19 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 37 caps, 10 points (2t)

20 – Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 89 caps, 60 points (12t)

21 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 84 caps, 55 points (11t)

22 – Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 31 caps, 5 points (1t)

23 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 15 caps, 10 points (2t)