Springboks: Shock call at fly-half while Malcolm Marx makes long ...

The Springboks have named Jordan Hendrikse at fly-half in a surprise selection for their opening international of 2024, against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

Hendrikse is one of two uncapped players in the starting team, with wing Edwill van der Merwe the other, as the World Cup holders get their Test campaign underway.

There are also two uncapped players on the bench as second-row/flanker Ben-Jason Dixon and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are set to make their debuts.

Up front it will be a momentous occasion for Vincent Koch, who will pick up his 50th cap against Wales, with Pieter-Steph du Toit named as skipper for the match.

Rassie Erasmus names a total of 10 players in the matchday 23 who featured in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, while 16 were members of the World Cup squad.

Erasmus welcomes back experienced hooker Malcolm Marx, who last ran out for the team in their opening World Cup pool encounter against Scotland before suffering a knee injury at training which ruled him out of further tournament action.

30 players will travel to London on Wednesday night, with those outside of the matchday squad being Manie Libbok (fly-half), RG Snyman (lock) – both World Cup winners – Neethling Fouche (prop), Phepsi Buthelezi (loose forward), Ethan Hooker (centre), Quan Horn (full-back), and Andre-Hugo Venter (hooker).

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With Snyman plying his trade in Ireland, he will make the short flight to London to join the squad following Munster’s exit from the United Rugby Championship in the semi-final last weekend against the Glasgow Warriors.

Five players in the starting team featured in the same positions in the international extravaganza at Stade de France in October last year, where the Springboks pipped the All Blacks 12-11 to be crowned world champions for the second time in a row. They are the duo of Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert, Du Toit, Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel – who has been named as the vice-captain for this match.

Erasmus opted for a five-three split in favour of the forwards on the replacements bench, which includes four Rugby World Cup winners – Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Grant Williams, and Damian de Allende respectively.

“This is an exciting playing squad and travelling group, and we are looking forward to seeing how the uncapped players step up at top international level and how we execute what we’ve been working on at training in the last few days and at the alignment camps,” said Erasmus.

“The likes of Edwill, Jordan, Ben-Jason, and Sacha have really impressed us at training, and we believe they have what it takes to make their presence felt against a quality team such as Wales.

“They will be surrounded by several experienced campaigners – some of whom are Rugby World Cup winners – so they will have enough guidance on the field to fulfil their roles even when the pressure is on. It is equally exciting for us to see players such as Aphelele (Fassi), Evan (Roos), Ntuthuko (Mchunu), and Salmaan (Moerat) back in the green in gold after earning their stripes in the last few seasons.”

Commenting on the decision to hand Du Toit the captaincy, Erasmus said it was not only well deserved, but also personal for the player since the first and only time he led the team was against Wales in Washington in 2018 – a Test the Boks lost 22-20.

“Pieter-Steph has been a key figure in our system for several years now and he’s a player who leads by example on the field,” he said.

“We have a strong core of senior players in this group, and we had a few options for captain, but we feel Pieter-Steph will be the right man to lead the team this week.

“He has captained the Springboks only once before and that was against Wales in 2018, and after that result, we believe it will make this match even more personal for him. Over and above that, he has immense respect from his team-mates and the coaches, and we know he will accept this responsibility with great pride.”

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 (c), 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

Date: Saturday, June 22
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT, 15:00 SA time)
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (RFU), Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Coverage: BBC iPlayer, SuperSport, S4C

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