Libbok back at 10 as Boks ring changes for England Test

Thursday at 12:49 PM

South Africa have selected Manie Libbok at fly-half and foregone a forward-heavy bench for the Test against England at Twickenham as they kept only three players from the starting line-up that beat Scotland last weekend.

Prop Ox Nche, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and lock Eben Etzebeth, who captained the side in their 32-15 victory over Scotland, remain from the side that played at Murrayfield last Sunday while coach Rassie Erasmus has gone for a traditional 5-3 split between forwards and backs on the bench for Saturday’s collision.

It contrasts with the 7-1 split last weekend which saw the fabled Bok ‘bomb squad’ squash Scottish hopes after coming on en masse in the second half.

Libbok returns to the role he played in South Africa’s last meeting against England in last year’s World Cup semi-final in Paris where he was taken off after 30 minutes, with replacement Handre Pollard going on to secure a win for the team.

Libbok’s kicking woes have contrasted with his exciting open field play and denied him the chance to make himself the first choice at No.10 for the Springboks.

On his return to the starting XV in July, he missed three of his five conversion attempts when South Africa beat Portugal 64-21 in Bloemfontein.

Libbok then pulled wide a last-gasp penalty after coming on as a replacement against Argentina in Santiago del Estero in September, when the Springboks lost by a point.

Erasmus, however, pointedly picked Libbok in the starting line-up the next week for the return fixture and saw the 27-year-old flyhalf cheered off after a match-winning performance in an emphatic 48-7 home victory over the Pumas.

Wilco Louw will play his first Test since 2021 after returning to the Springbok set-up as a late injury call-up for this month’s tour.

“The turnaround between the Scotland and England tests is short, so we had to be smart in our selection to enable us to field a fresh squad with only six days between two tough test matches,” said Erasmus in a statement naming the team.

“It obviously has a knock-on in effect in the sense that we’ve made 12 changes to the starting lineup, but we have been rotating our squad all season.”

South Africa have now opted for a 5-3 split in their last four meetings with England, with Erasmus saying it was a response to the challenge he expected the hosts to pose.

South Africa team:

15-Aphelele Fassi, 14-Cheslin Kolbe, 13-Jesse Kriel, 12-Damian de Allende, 11-Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10-Manie Libbok, 9-Grant Williams, 8-Jasper Wiese, 7-Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6-Siya Kolisi (capt), 5-RG Snyman, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Wilco Louw, 2-Bongi Mbonambi, 1-Ox Nche

Replacements: 16-Malcolm Marx, 17-Gerhard Steenekamp, 18-Vincent Koch, 19-Elrigh Louw, 20-Kwagga Smith, 21-Cobus Reinach, 22-Handre Pollard, 23-Lukhanyo Am.

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