South Africa have made changes for their clash with England as Rassie Erasmus recalls most of his key players to his starting squad.
Siya Kolisi, RG Snyman and Pieter-Steph du Toit are among those promoted to the bench, while Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Cheslin Kolbe return after being rested at Murrayfield.
Wilco Louw is in line for a rare start at tighthead in the absence of Frans Malherbe, and Manie Libbok is backed ahead of Handre Pollard after being hooked half an hour into the World Cup semi-final last year between these two teams.
The bench, meanwhile, contains a traditional spread of five forwards against three backs as Erasmus looks to ensure he has adequate cover to combat the high-intensity kicking game and defense of England.
“England are playing a really high-energy game which will take a toll on our backline, but their blitzkrieg defense will also take its toll on them. If we can keep the ball, it will tire them out,” explained Springboks boss Erasmus.
“I don’t think England will change their game plan because of what I say. They tend to go about their kicking game. If your backline doesn’t have the capacity to cope with this, you experience cramps and fatigue.
“Guys like Jesse, Damian and Cheslin haven’t played in the last five weeks, but they’ve stayed really healthy. We have Lukhanyo [Am]Handré [Pollard] and Cobus [Reinach] as cover to try to match their speed and running ability.
Louw has impressed both during a spell in the Premiership with Harlequins and since returning to South Africa with the Bulls, but has failed to break through since 2021.
But with Malherbe injured, the 30-year-old is preferred to Vincent Koch and Thomas du Toit.
Erasmus has faith in Libbok, despite a turbulent year for the playmaker which saw him miss a potential match-winning kick in a defeat against Argentina.
“We always like to give guys chances again. Manie hasn’t played much in recent weeks, so he had to be restarted. He had a bit of a break with the Stormers, while Handre continued to play, play, play. We would like to give Manie a second chance and we know his skills. We have safety on the bench with Handre.
The South African XV will face England at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham (Saturday November 16, 5:40 p.m. GMT): 1 Boeuf Nche, 2 Bongi Mbonami, 3 Wilco Louw; 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 RG Snyman; 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese; 9 Grant Williams, 10 Manie Libbok; 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 12 Damian de Allende, 13 Jesse Kriel, 14 Cheslin Kolbe; 15 Aphele Fassi.
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith; 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am.