The Springboks will face the British and Irish Lions this afternoon @ 18h00 at the Cape Town Stadium in the first of three tests.
Both coaches said that they expect a brutal battle upfront with the physicality not reserved to the forwards:
British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland said “We know what we’re coming up against on Saturday. It’s going to be an arm wrestle, there’s no doubt about it. We’ll need to front up physically and be ready to go from the first whistle. When we played SA ‘A’ last week we probably took a bit too long to get into the game, something we can’t afford to do that again this weekend. We need to make sure we play in the right areas of the field, not give them easy territory and take our chances when they come.
Springbok Head Coach, Jaques Nienaber expected a brutal battle against the British and Irish tourists, who have matched their physicality with enterprising play by the backs so far on their tour to South Africa.
“The forward battle is going to be as tough as it gets, so it’s important that we pitch up physically and ensure that we make our presence felt in the set pieces and at the contact points,” added the Bok coach.
“This, combined with their hard-running backs, will test our defensive system, but we have been looking forward to these matches since the Rugby World Cup concluded and we have done our homework, so it is a case of doing everything at 100% and sticking to our structures.”
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber named a strong lineup led by Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi, with 21 players in the match-23 having featured in the Springboks’ triumphant campaign in Japan in 2019. Pollard was named as the vice-captain.
“We planned our team selections carefully, which is why it was important for us to play a third match after the second Test against Georgia was cancelled, and we know what the players we selected can do.
“The fact that most of the players participated in the Rugby World Cup means they know one another well on and off the field, and as coaches, we know what they have to offer after having worked with most of them for several years.”
Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi (wing) and Ox Nché were the last group of players to report for duty at the Springbok camp in Cape Town on Monday morning after completing their mandatory self-isolation in Johannesburg, and they were all cleared to return to the field on Monday afternoon following the medical screening.
Nienaber was confident that all the players named in the side had the temperament and passion to give their all in this important Test.
The entire pack of forwards, the halfback pairing of Pollard and Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf) and Willie le Roux (fullback) started the Test against Georgia which the Springboks won 40-9 a little over two weeks ago, meaning the team will enter the match with some valuable game time and continuity in selection.
The changes to the starting XV that ran out against Georgia were on the wings where Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe will be on duty, and in the midfield, where Damian de Allende will partner up with Lukhanyo Am – the same combinations that ran out in the Rugby World Cup Final.
The only two changes among the replacements were at loose forward where Rynhardt Elstadt replaces Jasper Wiese and Lood de Jager takes over from Marvin Orie.
British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland, who has named his side for the first Test said “In my four Tours as a Lions coach, this was by far the hardest Test selection I have been involved in."
“We couldn’t have asked for more from the players so far; they’ve all put their hands up and made picking a starting XV incredibly difficult. In truth, we would have been happy with any number of different combinations across the 23, however, we’re very pleased with the side we’ve settled on.
Tour captain Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales) will skipper the Lions having recovered from a dislocated shoulder sustained in the tourists 28-10 win over Japan at Murrayfield Stadium just 24 days ago.
The iconic Welshman will be joined in the second row by Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) who claims his fourth successive Lions Test cap.
Elsewhere, Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) and Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) make up the front row.
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) packs down on the blindside flank to win his third Lions test appearance, having won his previous two from the bench in the second and third Tests in New Zealand in 2017. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) is named on the open side, with Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) filling the No.8 shirt.
After impressing against the DHL Stormers last Saturday, scrum-half Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) joins No.10 Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) in the half-back berths.
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland), who made his comeback from a hamstring injury last weekend, partners Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) in midfield.
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) wins his fourth Lions Test cap as he takes his spot on the wing opposite Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland), with fellow Scot, Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland), rounding off the side at fullback.
The starting XV includes three Scots for the first time since the 1997 Tour to South Africa when current Lions assistant coach, Gregor Townsend, was named alongside Alan Tait and Tom Smith for the first and second Tests.
Prediction: The B&I Lions seemingly have the "perfect" team that does not have any shortcomings. However, they showed some vulnerability against hard-running backs and abrasive defence. To their advantage, they showed that they can stop the Springboks dominance in the scrums, lineouts and mauls, which is the foundation on which the Springboks build their success.
The Confidence of the Springboks coaching staff could be seen as "arrogance" as they prefer to stick with the heroes of the 2019 World Cup winners rather than paying attention to the players with brilliant current form.
All being said I do expect all three tests to go down to the wire with the third test the decider of the series.
As a South African, I do "believe" that the Springboks will win this one, although at a very narrow margin.
Springboks: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11, Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Kwagga Smith, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi (C), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1, Ox Nché. Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Steven Kitshoff, 18. Frans Malherbe, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Rynhardt Elstadt, 21. Herschel Jantjies, 22. Elton Jantjies, 23. Damian Willemse.
B&I Lions: 15. Stuart Hogg, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Ali Price, 8.Jack Conan, 7. Tom Curry, 6. Courtney Lawes, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 4. Maro Itoje, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 1. Wyn Jones. Replacements: 16. Ken Owens, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. Tadhg Beirne, 20. Hamish Watson, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Owen Farrell, 23. Liam Williams.