Players in the spotlight against Wales

Quintin van Jaarsveld identifies five Springbok players who will be in the spotlight in Saturday’s season-opening Test against Wales at Twickenham.

Malcolm Marx

In the match against the Dragons, the best hooker in the world will make his long-awaited return.

Marx is held in such high regard by Rassie Erasmus that the Springbok coach immediately reinstated him in the starting line-up, despite the 29-year-old’s last appearance being in the World Cup opener in South Africa against Scotland, where he subsequently suffered a serious knee injury during training, ruling him out for the rest of the tournament.

As a key figure in the Springbok machine, Marx is starting to ensure he gets some game time for the blockbuster two-Test series against Ireland next month, with Erasmus likely hoping to get at least 40 minutes out of his first-choice number 2. .

Pieter-Steph du Toit

Although Eben Etzebeth seemed the obvious choice to take over the captaincy from the unavailable Siya Kolisi, giving the honor to Du Toit is another example of Erasmus’ astuteness.

As a Springbok, Du Toit has done just about everything there is to do. He has won two World Cups, a British & Irish Lions series and the Rugby Championship, as well as personal accolades such as the World Player of the Year award and the South African Player of the Year award (three times). an all-time great achievement to remain standing as Man of the Match in the Springboks’ 12-11 victory over the All Blacks in last year’s World Cup final.

The one thing the legendary loose forward hasn’t done is lead his country to victory. The only time he was led away from South Africa was against Wales in Washington in 2018, a match in which he became the 60th Springbok skipper and ended in disappointment as an experimental Bok side lost 22-20.

Erasmus hit the nail on the head when announcing the team on Tuesday, saying that giving Du Toit the captain’s armband “will make this match even more personal for him.” That should be a frightening thought for the Welsh.

Jordan Hendrikse

Hendrikse is the greatest of the selected shooters for the season opener.

Although extremely talented, he played second fiddle to Sanele Nohamba at the Lions for most of the United Rugby Championship season and ended the campaign not in his regular position at flyhalf, but rather with promising displays at centre. Despite this, he has the support of Erasmus as one of two players who will make their Springbok debut in the starting line-up.

Hendrikse is an exciting flyhalf with a wide range of skills. The Glenwood product likes to play a positive brand of rugby and has the punching, footwork, vision and ball skills to cause all kinds of problems for defences. He is tactically sound but still needs seasoning, like any 22-year-old pivot, and is an adequate goalscorer and a strong defender.

In terms of the all-important place-kicking, he finished the club season seventh on the South African marksman list, placing 44 of his 58 kicks in the URC and European Challenge Cup for a success rate of 75.9%. As for the other goalkeepers in the squad, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – one of the two new faces on the bench – finished second with 85.7%, Siya Masuku sixth with 78.3% and Manie Libbok 10th, just above Curwin Bosch with 72.6. %.

Edwill van der Merwe

The other newcomer in the run-on side, Van der Merwe, is a like-for-like replacement for injured speedsters Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse. The Lions livewire is a small dynamo full of X-factor, which can fit into even the smallest spaces.

The 28-year-old, who initially caught the eye of Paul Roos and made his professional career with the Stormers before heading to Johannesburg in 2021, has had a breakthrough URC season for the Lions, beating 39 defenders (ninth). , 16 clean breaks (13th), 801 meters (10th) and scored six tries (21st) from 122 carries (32nd).

Aphelele Fassi

Hard work pays off.

That’s what Fassi’s selection at fullback says, as it comes two years after the last of his three Test appearances. Like Du Toit, it is a chance for Fassi to get revenge on Wales as that last match was an embarrassing 13-12 home defeat to the Dragons.

It’s also the first time he’s shown what he’s capable of in his favored position as a wing-back at the top level, as he’s worn the No. 11 jersey for all three of his Springbok outings.

A tall, lean, exciting talent with blistering speed, “The Weekend Special” is ready to take his phenomenal form for the Sharks into the international season.

Other players who deserve a special mention are tighthead Vincent Kochearning his 50th Springbok cap, and Evan Rosewho starts at number 8, while sitting on the couch, Ntuthuko Mchunu will win his second Test cap and Ben Jason Dixon and the above Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are lining up to make their debut.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Damian de Allende.