The Springboks have brought back Duane “Thor” Vermeulen as they look to give the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship hopes a hammer blow at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Vermeulen will play in his first Test of the year, after missing the 2-1 July series win over Wales as well as last week’s 26-10 win over the All Blacks in Mbombela after undergoing knee surgery.
The No.8 replaces Jasper Wiese in the starting XV in one of five changes to coach Jacques Nienaber’s starting lineup. Three of those changes are to the pack of forwards, with the other two being Bongi Mbonambi coming in for last week’s Man of the Match Malcolm Marx, while Ox Nche takes over from Trevor Nyakane at loosehead prop.
In the backline, Jesse Kriel takes the place of Kurt-Lee Arendse who has been suspended for four weeks after last week’s red card, while Jaden Hendrikse starts at No.9 in place of Faf de Klerk, who is ruled out because of concussion.
Of Vermeulen, Nienaber says: “Duane has a massive presence on the field and there is no bigger game for him to make his comeback from injury than facing the All Blacks.
“He is an enforcer on attack and defence and we know he will give everything against a physical All Blacks team that are desperate to bounce back strongly from a challenging run of results.
“Jasper is also a warrior, and we know that he will have an equally strong presence when he takes the field.”
He adds of Kriel: “Jesse has played over 50 Tests, and he has been waiting in the wings for his chance. He’s played wing for us before, so we know what he can bring to the game, and we are also excited to welcome back Herschel [Jantjies], who has played an immense role to help prepare the playing squad for the last two Tests.”
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 Five changes to the Boks' starting team
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🔗 Team announcement: https://t.co/nhaL9JDsiO#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #RSAvNZL #CastleRugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/lRdU4GChI5
Springboks starting XV: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jasper Wiese, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Kwagga Smith 22, Herschel Jantjies, 23 Willie le Roux.