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Handre Pollard starts as South Africa make 12 changes for Tonga
By Josh Raisey
South Africa have made wholesale changes from the side that lost to Ireland last week for their match against Tonga this Sunday in Marseille.
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Only captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Jasper Wiese survive in the starting XV, as Jacques Nienaber has called upon fly-half Handre Pollard.
Pollard was drafted into the Springboks’ World Cup squad last week as a replacement for hooker Malcolm Marx. Though he did not feature against Ireland, he was expected to play against Tonga after the troubles South Africa had with the tee in Paris. Starting fly-half against Ireland, Manie Libbok, has moved to the bench, as Nienaber has opted for a conventional 5-3 split amongst his substitutes rather than the 7-1 split against the world number ones.
Flanker/ hooker Deon Fourie starts in the No2 jersey, with fellow flanker/ hooker Marco van Staden deputising on the bench as Bongi Mbonambi is rested completely. Elsewhere in the pack, Duane Vermeulen will start but in an unfamiliar role at the side of the scrum, as Jasper Wiese retains the No8 berth. Vincent Koch also starts after pulling out of the Romania match just before kick-off with an injury.
In the backline, scrum-half Grant Williams is to be deployed on the wing again as he was against Romania, with Cobus Reinach starting at scrum-half.
In view of their opponents on Sunday, Nienaber emphasised the importance of picking a physical team to match Tonga.
“This is a strong and physical team, which is exactly what need against a side like Tonga that plays with passion and force,” said Nienaber.
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“Each one of us understands the importance of this match with an eye on qualifying for the quarter-final, so accurate execution, physicality and doing our basics right will be vital to get the desired result.
“They will enter with the mindset that they have nothing to lose after going down in their opening two matches of the tournament, so they won’t hold back.
“They had impressive moments in their matches against Scotland and Ireland, so this will require a full 80-minute effort. The emphasis for us will be on doing what we need to do to progress out of the pool stages and to bounce back from last week and build momentum.”
Following their loss to Ireland, it is now ideal for South Africa to not only win, but win with a bonus-point to provide some security if Scotland beat Ireland in the final weekend of pool stage action.
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South Africa XV
15. Willie le Roux
14. Grant Williams
13. Canan Moodie
12. Andre Esterhuizen
11. Makazole Mapimpi
10. Handre Pollard
9. Cobus Reinach
1. Ox Nche
2. Deon Fourie
3. Vincent Koch
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Marvin Orie
6. Siya Kolisi (c)
7. Duane Vermeulen
8. Jasper Wiese
Replacements
16. Marco van Staden
17. Steven Kitshoff
18. Trevor Nyakane
19. Franco Mostert
20. Kwagga Smith
21. Jaden Hendrikse
22. Manie Libbok
23. Jesse Kriel
Loves this team. Should be a great game. Hopefully we get out without too many injuries.
This team makes me nervous. There is nearly two weeks between Tonga and the QF. SA should be playing a near full strength team.Williams is unnecessary on the wing. Two loose forwards covering hooker. An unbalanced looking back row. A mediocre tight five. And a team that might struggle to click together.
We really needed a hooker to replace Malcolm Marx. Not Handre Pollard.
Interesting selections. Looks like a team intent on playing quickly, and running the opposition off their feet.
Vermeulen at 7 is a clever balance to the two mobile hookers.
The 5-3 split means not having a full front five in the bomb squad. Did not expect that against Tonga.
And Kriel at 23 makes sense if you are concerned that Moodie could have an off game. But it means they have much less versatility in the backs than usual, including only specialists on the bench.
Cover for 15 and 12 is thin, and non-existent if Pollard goes off.
Kwagga can cover 1-15, don't worry.
The loss of the best hooker/jackal in the world is loss of equal, if not more importance, as not having a kicker. Our best replacement (Bongi) is at best 6th best in the world. So props doubling as hookers are probably equivalent to 'B-stringers'. And that alone should bring hope to our challengers. Simply put - Malcolm Marx is irreplaceable and takes at least 20% away from the Boks.
And that's the message in the bottle.
Odd selection up front - much less powerful than usual in the front five and Vermeulen at 7?