Springbok’s coach has chosen a strong line up for their final pool match against Tonga on Sunday. The squad consists of 12 changes from the squad that played against Ireland, in what many termed as the best game played in the world cup so far. Handre Pollard will play his first test since August 2022 after being out for a while due to a calf injury. He is expected to bring his goal kicking expertise into the team, based on the fact that the Boks have only slotted 48% of their kicks. Many green and gold fans are confident and expect a thrilling show in their final pool match.
Pollard will make his first springbok appearance since playing against the Wallabies in Adelaide before he was forced out of the subsequent 16 tests by the injury. This Sunday’s clash against Tonga will be his second match in 19 weeks after suffering the calf injury while playing for his English club Leicester Tigers in the English Premeirship in May. He returned last week as a replacement in his club’s match against the Sale Sharks.
The outcome of this match is crucial as it determines who will advance through to play in the top-eight playoffs, mainly know as the quarter finals. Coach Jacques Nienabar opted for the traditional split of 5/3, with five forwards and three backs on the bench. Cobus Reinach will partner with Pollard as the halfbacks, while the heavy hitter Andre Esterhuizen combines with Canon Moodie in the midfield. Makazole Mapimpi makes his return after missing out in the Ireland game and will patroll with Grant Williams at the wings looking forward to cause havoc in the flanks as they did against Romania.
Deon Fourie will earn his first start as a Springbok hooker in a front row with the two heavies, Ox Nche and Vincent Koch. Eben and Orie will anchor them in the second row. The only change Nienaber made among the loose forwards was the inclusion of Duane Vermeulen who will combine with formidable Wiese and Kolisi combination.
During an interview, Coach Nienaber stated that ” This is a strong anf physical team, which is exactly what we need against a side like Tonga that plays with passion and force. Each one of us understands the importance of this match with an eye on qualifying for the quarter-final, so accurate execution, physicality and doing our basics right will be vital to get the desired result. They will enter with the mindset that they have nothing to lose after going down in their opening two matches of the tournament so they won’t hold back. They had impressive moments in their matches against Scotland and Ireland, so this will require a full 80-minute effort. The emphasis for us will be on doing what we need to do to progress out of the pool stages and to bounce back from last week and build momentum. We are still in the world cup and we know we have the players and skills to defend our title. We now need to transfer all the hard work at training into producing a top-quality performance. “
The match will also have some notable milestones as the versatile Williw Le Roux will play his 90th test match for the green and gold. Additionally, skipper Siya Kolisi will captain the Springboks for the 50th time in a Test match.
