Bok team to take on England at Twickenham

The Springboks close their year off against England at Twickenham this Saturday, and Jacques Nienaber has adjusted the squad slightly to the one which beat Scotland last weekend. SA Rugby magazine reports…

Handre Pollard and Cobus Reinach have rotated back into the starting lineup in three changes to the Springbok team to face England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made three changes to the starting side that defeated Scotland 30-15. In the two changes in the backline, Pollard and Reinach come in as the preferred halfback axis with Elton and Herschel Jantjies reverting to the bench to be utilised as impact players.

Up front, Lood de Jager comes in at lock in place of Franco Mostert, who is also among the reserves.

Victory for the Springboks over England will not only have the South Africans retain the No 1 spot on the world rankings, it would also mark their first unbeaten end-of-year tour since 2013, and wrap up a successful season for the world champions with nine victories in 13 Test matches.

The last time the Springboks beat England in London was in 2014, when they edged the hosts 31-28, but they have won three of their last six outings against their northern-hemisphere rivals – the most recent being the Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama in 2019, where the Boks emerged 32-12 victors.

Andrew Brace (Ireland) has been appointed as the match referee and he will be assisted by Angus Gardner (Australia) and Frank Murphy (Ireland), while Irishman Brian MacNeice will be on TMO duty.

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn.