Veteran centre Jesse Kriel will lead the Springboks against the Barbarians at the DHL Stadium on Saturday after coach Rassie Erasmus was forced to make a late change to his team on Friday, following the withdrawal of Siya Kolisi due to a niggle.
Bulls flank Marco van Staden has been drafted straight into the starting lineup as a replacement for Kolisi and will partner up with Vincent Tshituka and Jean-Luc du Preez in the loose trio, with the rest of the squad remaining the same.
This will be the first time Kriel will lead the Springboks. He made his debut for South Africa in 2015 and has played in 79 Tests.
Earlier this week, named four uncapped players to face the Barbarians in their season opener in Cape Town.
Prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and flank Vincent Tshituka have both been named in a relatively experienced starting lineup, while Marnus van der Merwe (hooker) and Neethling Fouche (prop) will feature off the bench.
“Asenathi, Vincent, Neethling, and Marnus have all been impressive at training and for their respective franchises this season, and we hope to see them replicate those quality performances in this match,” Erasmus said on Tuesday during the team announcement.
Springboks team for Barbarians:
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.
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