Mike Greenaway
Many will not take him seriously but Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says Portugal will seriously test his team in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
It is a leveller of sorts that Erasmus is fielding a second-string side and it has to be said that Portugal were the surprise package of the last World Cup and provided rich entertainment with their cavalier approach. The Portuguese have risen from 27th in the world rankings at the start of 2019 to their present ranking of 15th.
“Portugal are a good team, as we saw with their victory against Fiji in the World Cup, while they also drew their clash against Georgia 18-18,” he said.
“They proved that they could compete successfully against some of the top teams in the world and they will lift their game even more this weekend given the magnitude of facing the Springboks.
“This occasion will excite them, and they’ll give everything to make a statement for the tier-two nations, so we have to deliver a top-quality performance to get a result.
“This match is also an opportunity for us to work on what went wrong last week, so we will treat them and the occasion with the respect it deserves.
“There are no easy games in Test rugby, and for us, it’s important to live up to our standards and build momentum going into the Rugby Championship.”
Stormers lock Salmaan Moerat will captain a Bok side featuring seven uncapped players in the first Test between the countries. It will also be the first time the Boks have been refereed by a woman, with Scotland’s Hollie Davidson taking the whistle.
The uncapped players in the starting line-up are former Junior Springbok captain Phepsi Buthelezi (flank), Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Jan-Hendrik Wessels (prop), while Andre-Hugo Venter (hooker), Ruan Venter (loose forward), Morne van den Berg (scrumhalf) and Quan Horn (fullback) will make their Test debuts from the bench.
In 2022, the City of Roses hosted the second Test between the Boks and Wales and the home team had 14 new faces as Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber gave newcomers a chance to prove themselves. The Boks lost the game 13-12 but the experiment produced current Boks Kurt-Lee Arendse, Aphelele Fassi, Thomas du Toit, Grant Williams, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Evan Roos and Jaden Hendrikse. Of the above, only the injured Hendrikse will not be involved on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Moerat becomes the 66th Springbok captain – and the third in four Tests this year – as he kicks on from having led the SA Schools side, the Junior Springboks and the Stormers.
Only four players in the team were retained from last week’s match 23 against Ireland: Arendse, RG Snyman, Moerat, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The match marks the first appearance of the Test season for World Cup winners Lukhanyo Am, Manie Libbok, Cobus Reinach, Trevor Nyakane and Du Toit.
Eight players were members of the Bok match 23 that defeated Wales 41-13 in London in last month’s opening match of the season: Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi, Makazole Mapimpi, Andre Esterhuizen, Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Moerat, and Mchunu.
“Most of the so-called younger players have been exposed to Test rugby in one way or another by either playing against Wales or Ireland or have been around the squad so they are all well aware of the standards we expect on the field and the way we do things,” said Erasmus.
“All of the uncapped players, apart from Ruan Venter, were also members of our training squad in June, and we were very impressed with the way they fitted into our structures and their work ethic. We’re excited to see what they offer on Saturday.
“The squad also includes a few experienced campaigners and they will play a vital role in guiding the young players and keeping things calm in the pressure situations.”
Springboks’ starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Salmaan Moerat (capt), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels; Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn