Sanelisiwe Charlie (prop), Micke Gunter (hooker) and Jacomina Cilliers (centre) have been handed starting berths for the second test the Springbok Women and Kenya in Stellenbosch todayy.
Stanley Raubenheimer's charges outplayed Kenya 66-0 in the first Test at Danie Craven Stadium last Thursday and the coach made small tweaks to his team for the match that will be played at the same venue in Stellenbosch, where kick-off is at 15h00.
Cilliers comes in for Zintle Mpupha, who was ruled out with a muscle injury after a very impressive outing last week, when she scored 26 points.
Charlie earns a start after warming the bench last week, but not getting any game time. She comes in at tighthead, with Yonela Ngxingolo moving to loosehead in place of Asithandile Ntoyanto, who moves to the bench to fill the spot left by Charlie.
Gunter will also make her Test debut after not being used off the bench and replaces provincial teammate Lindelwa Gwala, who was also ruled out due to injury. The uncapped Buhlebethu Sonamzi (EP Queens) has been named to take Gunter’s spot on the bench.
Blue Bulls winger Ayanda Malinga has been drafted onto the bench, with Aphiwe Ngwevu dropping out of the match day squad.
Raubenheimer said he is keen to see how the debutants shape up after they have excelled in the Women’s Premier Division.
“We are building depth in the squad with next year’s World Cup in mind and I have included a number of younger players for that purpose,” said Raubenheimer, who is hoping to further improvement in their second outing this year.
“We will be trying to hold onto the ball better and by doing so place more pressure on Kenya’s defence. If that is successful, we will score some tries.
“From a defensive point of view, I would like to see better discipline. We conceded a number of penalties in that area last week and worked hard at training to cut out those errors. It will be good to see if we can implement what we worked on at training.”
Springbok Women (with caps and points):
15. Eloise Webb (Boland Dames; four caps, 30 points)
14. Veroeshka Grain (DHL Western Province; 12 caps 20 points)
13. Jacomina Cilliers (Leopards, uncapped)
12. Chumisa Qawe (DHL Western Province; three caps, 15 points)
11. Alichia Arries (DHL Western Province; one cap, 0 points)
10. Zenay Jordaan (EP Queens; 33 caps 65 points)
9. Felicia Jacobs (DHL Western Province; five caps, 5 points)
8. Sizophila Solontsi (Cell C Sharks Women; five caps, 10 points)
7. Sinazo Mcatshulwa (DHL Western Province; eight caps, 15 points)
6. Lusanda Dumke (captain – Border Ladies; eight caps, 5 points)
5. Catha Jacobs (Blue Bulls Women; one cap, 0 points)
4. Nompumelelo Mathe (Cell C Sharks Women; four caps, 0 points)
3. Sanelisiwe Charlie (EP Queens, uncapped)
2. Micke Gunter (Cell C Sharks Women, uncapped)
1. Yonela Ngxingolo (Border Ladies; 10 caps, 5 points)
Replacements:
16. Buhlebethu Sonamzi (EP Queens, uncapped)
17. Asithandile Ntoyanto (Border Ladies; six caps, 5 points)
18. Amahle Nyoba (EP Queens, one cap, 0 points)
19. Lerato Makua (Blue Bulls Women, uncapped)
20. Ziyanda Ngohlekana (SWD Eagirls, uncapped)
21. Donelle Snyders (DHL Western Province, one cap, 0 points)
22. Libbie Janse van Rensburg (Blue Bulls Women, one cap, 0 points )
23. Ayanda Malinga (Blue Bulls Women, two caps, 15 points)