Cape Town - Jamba Ulengo, Uzair Cassiem and Rohan Janse van Rensburg have “forced their way” into the Springbok team for Saturday’s final Test of the year against Wales in Cardiff, according to coach Allister Coetzee.
The trio from the Bulls, Cheetahs and Lions respectively will make their Test debuts for the Boks at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, while Sharks loose forward Jean-Luc du Preez could come on off the bench.
They were among the seven changes that Coetzee made in a re-jigged line-up that Coetzee hopes will breathe new life into his struggling team, who have lost seven out of 11 Tests this year, including last week’s 20-18 reverse to Italy in Florence.
Quite excited about Bok team. Chuffed for Jamba, Rohan and Uzair, all fully deserving of chance. Let's see a good finish. @IOLsport
— Jacques vdWesthuyzen (@jacq_west) November 24, 2016
Blindside flank Willem Alberts failed a fitness test on his neck niggle on Thursday, which sees Cassiem elevated to the starting XV after a top-class season for the Cheetahs, while Ulengo comes in for Bryan Habana.
Damian de Allende had one of his better Tests against Italy, but Janse van Rensburg gets his chance after a superb season, while Johan Goosen is granted another opportunity at fullback in place of Willie le Roux.
Lions halfbacks Faf de Klerk and Elton Jantjies were given a second chance by Coetzee after their struggles earlier in the year, and Lourens Adriaanse will shore up the scrum ahead of Vincent Koch at tighthead.
The 53-year-old coach’s job is on the line, and even if the Boks win on Saturday, the former Stormers boss may still be shown the door by the South African Rugby Union.
Got to wonder if that's it for Habana, Pietersen. Also goodbye Strauss. Time to look forward, finally a selection to back it up. @IOLsport
— Jacques vdWesthuyzen (@jacq_west) November 24, 2016
But Coetzee said in a statement on Thursday that some of the new faces in the side were part of the “building process” towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
“We have a less experienced team, but I want to see some energy and an improved performance. Our selection is also keeping in mind of the process and necessity to build towards 2019,” he said.
“Uzair was impressive during our domestic competitions and he was Man of the Match in the Currie Cup final. He made a good impression during the build-up to the Barbarians match and has continued to work hard on this tour since rejoining us.
“Jamba, Uzair and Rohan are examples of players who have forced their way into the squad through consistently performing well on the domestic scene and during training on tour, and now they are getting their opportunities to play for the Boks. Even though Damian played well against England and Italy, we felt Rohan deserved an opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Wales lost captain and flank Sam Warburton to a “stinger” injury, which sees Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric on the side of the scrum.
The team for the final #Springboks test against @WelshRugbyUnion has been named. There are four players on debut #LoveRugby @BlueLabelTeleco pic.twitter.com/e5CyXRUGcX
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) November 24, 2016
Teams For Cardiff
Springboks:15 Johan Goosen, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Bench:16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Patrick Lambie, 23 Lionel Mapoe.
Wales:15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Bench:16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts.