adminBRISBANE. — South Africa have made three changes for their Rugby Championship clash with Australia on Saturday with Bismarck du Plessis, Flip van der Merwe and Zane Kirchner drafted into the side.Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer also made two positional switches from the team that narrowly beat Argentina 22-17 in Mendoza last month.
Upfront, du Plessis takes over at hooker and vice-captain from Adriaan Strauss, while van der Merwe will pack down at lock in place of Juandre Kruger.
Strauss and Kruger move to the replacement bench. At the back, Willie le Roux shifts from fullback to right wing in the place of Bjorn Basson, with Bryan Habana moving over to the left.
Kirchner, who is back to full fitness following a hand injury earlier in the season, will start his first Test of the year at fullback.
“A few of these changes are purely rotational in order to give guys with fresh legs a go, while others are simply a case of horses for courses,” said Meyer.
“We’re fortunate to be in a position to rotate players of the calibre of Bismarck and Adriaan, while we felt this was the right opportunity to give Flip and Zane a go in the starting team.
“In the end, the most important factor still remains consistency in selection.
In our squad, any player can slot in at any stage, and that is a good position to be in.”
Meyer reiterated the massive challenge of playing Australia at Brisbane, where the Springboks have never won in eight Tests, including seven since the inception of the Tri Nations/Rugby Championship in 1996.
“If we are going to progress as a team, we need to start winning away from home and Saturday’s Test provides this challenge,” he said.
“It’s no use looking at history now — we have to focus on the Test, ensure we tick the right boxes and improve in the areas where we let ourselves down in Mendoza.”
South Africa (15-1)
Zane Kirchner; Willie le Roux, JJ Engelbrecht, Jean de Villiers (capt), Bryan Habana; Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar; Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw; Flip van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth; Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: Adriaan Strauss, Gurthro Steenkamp, Coenie Oosthuizen, Juandre Kruger, Siya Kolisi, Jano Vermaak, Pat Lambie,
Online Reporter