Photo Credit - Speedshots.co.za
The Springboks will make their first appearance in the test arena after an absence of 608 days. They will face the national team of Georgia @ 19h00 tonight at Loftus Versveld in Pretoria.
It will be only the second time these two teams will meet in the international arena. The first was in their pool match at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, which the Springboks won 46-19.
Prediction - Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said during an interview that there won’t be changes to the Boks’ winning formula. “Our game plan has not changed,” said Kolisi. “There are a few tweaks here and there, but our physicality and work rate will be the same.
“It’s all the stuff that you don’t need talent for. “We are looking for warriors in the team."
Therefore expect the Georgians to put extreme pressure upfront, however after this "threat" has been nullified expect some sparkling play from the backline with the two newbies at the wing expected to sparkle.
The Springboks expected to win with at least 35 points with the score at halftime still very close.
Rosko Specman, Aphelele Fassi and Jasper Wiese are in line to make their Springbok debuts on Friday when the Rugby World Cup champions line up against Georgia at Loftus Versfeld in the team’s first Test since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in November 2019.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber who will guide the Springboks in his first Test as head coach has named 18 Rugby World Cup winners in his matchday squad – 12 of whom featured in their 32-12 final triumph against England.
Six of these 12 players will start against Georgia. They are Bok captain Siya Kolisi and his loose forward partner Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth (lock), Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Willie le Roux (fullback) and Handré Pollard (flyhalf).
“We have selected the best team with an eye on what we would like to achieve in this Test against Georgia and we believe that we have a good balance with several experienced campaigners and a few young players who have made a strong statement this season,” said Nienaber.
“Most of the players in this squad are Rugby World Cup winners, while others have been part of the national squad for a few seasons, and this will be invaluable against a team that boasts the passion that Georgia exhibit.
“We are also excited to see what the uncapped players bring to the table after impressive performances for their franchises in the last few seasons. Each one of them has proved that they deserve an opportunity at this level, and the commitment and enthusiasm they displayed at training has been striking.”
Nienaber was excited to return to the field after a 19-month absence from international rugby and said the physical challenge they would face against Georgia was exactly what they needed to prepare themselves mentally and physically as they look forward to the Castle Lager Lions Series.
“We are expecting Georgia to come out guns blazing with their passionate and physical rugby, so we need to find our rhythm early on and build up a good 80-minute performance,” said Nienaber.
“We know how big this challenge will be, but it is vital that we build a solid foundation in the next two Tests in order to refine our skill set, match readiness and ability to perform under pressure.”
Georgia is coming into the match on the back of a 48-15 victory over the Netherlands in Telavi last weekend, in a Rugby Europe Championship match, where they scored a total of eight tries, with Davit Niniashvili (fullback) scoring a hat-trick and Akaki Tabutsadze (right-wing) adding a brace.
Georgia is currently ranked 12th and has featured at every Rugby World Cup since 2003. They comprehensively beat Uruguay 33-9 in their RWC pool game in Japan in 2019, and four years earlier, in England in 2015, the Lelos were too strong for Namibia (17-16) and Tonga (17-10).
Georgia coach Levan Maisashvili has named his match-day squad. Inside centre, Merab Sharikadze will lead the Lelos against the Rugby World Cup champions, with Maisashvili handing a potential debut to one uncapped player, Luka Japaridze (prop), who was included on the bench.
Sharikadze is the most experienced member of the Georgian match-23, and has represented his country in 77 Tests so far. Three more players have more than 50 Test caps – hooker Jaba Bregvadze (66), lock Kote Mikautadze (67) and scrumhalf Vasil Lobzhaidze (58).
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Aphelele Fassi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Albertus Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nché. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse.
Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (captain), 11 Demur Tapladze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Vasil Lobzhaidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Ilia Spanderashvili, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Gigauri Davit, 3 Giorgi Melikidze, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Guram Gogichashvili. Replacements: 16 Giorgi Chkoidze, 17 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 18 Luka Japaridze, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Giorgi Javakhia, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Giorgi Babunashvili, 23 Irakli Tskhadadze.