Portugal change five for showdown with Springboks

Tomas Appleton will captain Portugal this Saturday against South Africa in Bloemfontein, replacing Nicolas Martins, who misses the match.

Martins is one of five changes to the starting XV from the team that beat Namibia 37-22 last week.

The flanker has been replaced by Diego Pinheiro in the No.7 jersey, with Vasco Baptista also taking the place of Joao Granate in the back row at No.8.

The only other change in the pack sees Nicolas Fernandes come in for Antonio Rebelo Andrade in the second row.

The two changes in the back line see fly-half Domingos Cabral drop to the bench with Joris Moura starting in his place, and Simao Bento start at fullback in place of Jose Paiva dos Santos. Manuel Cardoso Pinto will shift to the wing this week after starting at fullback against Namibia.

Looking ahead to the match after naming his Springboks side, Rassie Erasmus said: “Portugal are a quality team as we saw with their victory against Fiji in the RWC, while they also drew their clash against Georgia 18-18.

"They proved that they could compete successfully against some of the top teams in the world and we believe they will lift their game even more this weekend given the magnitude of facing the Springboks.

“This occasion will really excite them, and they’ll certainly give everything to make a statement for the Tier Two nations, so we have to deliver a top-quality performance to get a result."

Portugal XV

15. Simao Bento

14. Manuel Cardoso Pinto

13. Jose Lima

12. Tomas Appleton (c)

11. Rodrigo Marta

10. Joris Moura

9. Hugo Camacho

1. Francisco Fernandes

2. Luka Begic

3. Diogo Hasse Ferreira

4. Nicolas Fernandes

5. Duarte Torgal

6. Jose Maderia

7. Diego Pinheiro

8. Vasco Baptista

Replacements

16. David Costa

17. Pedro Vicente

18. Abel Cunha

19. Antionio R. Andrade

20. Andre Cunha

21. Pedro Lucas

22. Domingos Cabral

23. Jose P. Santos