Scrumhalf Grant Williams will earn his first start for the Springboks when they host Argentina at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Impressive when coming off the bench so far in the Rugby Championship, Williams - in for Faf de Klerk - is one of nine changes to the starting lineup that suffered a 35-20 defeat to New Zealand in their last outing.
Williams will form a brand new halfback pairing with flyhalf Manie Libbok, who replaces Damian Willemse, while Jesse Kriel and Kurt-Lee Arendse replace outside centre Lukhanyo Am and wing Makazole Mapimpi in the other changes to the backline.
The #Springboks starting team for Saturday's Test against Argentina show nine changes from the Auckland match - more here: https://t.co/9jg5HEwTbU 👍#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/kCMFyeXhNJ
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 25, 2023
Up front, the Boks will also take the field with a brand new loose-trio - No.8 Duane Vermeulen taking over from Jasper Wiese and flankers Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith making way for Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marco van Staden.
Two changes to the tight five see Marvin Orie in at lock for Lood de Jager and hooker Malcolm Marx taking the No.2 jumper from Bongi Mbonambi.
A five-three split instead of the regular six-two means the bench looks completely different too, with only Vincent Koch and RG Snyman holding onto their spots from the team that faced the All Blacks.
On his squad selection, coach Jacques Nienaber says of the team captained by Duane Vermeulen: “This is a quality team that will offer us the skills we need against Argentina. It also contains a good balance of experience and youth, which is vital as we build toward the Rugby World Cup.
“There are only four more matches before we kick off our Rugby World Cup campaign so it’s a fine balancing act to give all the players a chance to stake a claim for places...”
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Faf de Klerk , 22 Lukhanyo Am, 23 Damian Willemse.