Experience the fall-back for Nienaber’s Boks

Townsville in the northern region of Queensland will host the clash as the Springboks look to bounce back from consecutive defeats to the Wallabies over the past two weekends, but this time they face their unbeaten arch-rivals.

New Zealand have cruised through their opening four matches of the Rugby Championship with wins over the Wallabies and Argentina to sit on the brink of another Rugby Championship triumph.

Lood de Jager has been declared fit to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up while Kwagga Smith comes into the starting line-up and Franco Mostert shifts to the bench.

Elton Jantjies and Frans Steyn have been included on the bench as Nienaber shifts to a five/three split on the bench.

The Springboks have only won 36 of the previous 99 meetings between the two side so he knows the enormity of this weekends clash.

“It’s always a massive task to face the All Blacks,” Nienaber said.

“They have skillful players who thrive on turnover ball and who know how to capitalise on point-scoring opportunities, so we know that we need to a deliver a quality 80-minute performance against them to turn the corner after two disappointing defeats.

“Experience will be vital to ensure that we remain focused and calm throughout the match, and players such as Elton and Frans will bring that when they take the field. They have both played and won against the All Blacks, but they will also bring a set of different skills.

“Lood also boasts 51 Test caps, which will be valuable in this match, while has Kwagga has faced them before as well, which gives us a chance to give Franco a well-deserved opportunity to be managed carefully this week after a physically taxing load since the season started.

“Both Elton and Frans have been training very well, they’ve also been in our structures for years and have performed well for the team in high-pressure matches, so we are keen to see what dynamic they will bring to the game.”

The season has been a long one for the Boks but the coach and the team are not using that as an excuse. For Nienaber it’s going to be important that they execute the things that they used to do well to precision again.

“We are fully aware of the challenge that awaits us, and we know what we have to do to stay on the right side of the scoreboard this weekend – strong defence, accurate execution and capitalising on our point-scoring chances will be key.

“We also have to ensure we make minimal mistakes because the All Blacks have proved time and again how they punish teams from small errors, so we need to deliver an effective performance all around.”

Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane will play in his fiftieth match for the Springboks this weekend against New Zealand.

Springbok team to face New Zealand in Townsville:
15  Willie le Roux, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13  Lukhanyo Am, 12  Damian de Allende , 11  Makazole Mapimpi, 10  Handré Pollard, 9  Faf de Klerk, 8  Duane Vermeulen, 7  Kwagga Smith, 6  Siya Kolisi, 5  Lood de Jager, 4  Eben Etzebeth, 3  Frans Malherbe, 2  Bongi Mbonambi, 1  Trevor Nyakane.

Replacements:
16  Malcolm Marx, 17  Steven Kitshoff, 18  Vincent Koch, 19  Franco Mostert, 20  Marco van Staden, 21  Herschel Jantjies, 22  Elton Jantjies, 23  Frans Steyn.