S pringbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen makes a return to the national side after he was one of several changes to the team that was trounced 38-3 by Ireland a week ago for Saturday night’s Castle Lager Outgoing Tours match against France in St Denis.
Vermeulen returns to his customary role at the back of the scrum to partner Francois Louw and Siya Kolisi in a loose trio that looks a lot more balanced than it has been for the past two seasons and will hopefully spur his forwards on as well.
Coetzee resisted the urge to make too many changes, but made a huge call by dropping Elton Jantjies for Handre Pollard, in search of a flyhalf who can ask more questions of the defence and to try and rectify the poor aerial kicking display that cost the Springboks dearly in their loss in Dublin a week back.
This will be Pollard’s first start for the Springboks since the 2015 Rugby World Cup bronze medal match against Argentina.
Ross Cronje, on the face of it, must also be lucky to keep his place as Coetzee resisted dropping him for either Louis Schreuder or Rudy Paige, but there will be a lot of pressure on the halfback after several mediocre performances behind the pack.
Damian de Allende is another who has paid the price for the Dublin performance, as Coetzee looks for a more “industrious” midfielder and has handed an opportunity to Toyota Cheetahs captain Francois Venter to partner Pollard in the 10-12 axis.
At tighthead, with Coenie Oosthuizen injured and now back in South Africa, Wilco Louw gets his third cap and a first test start for the Western Province strongman.
Technically Vermeulen takes Pieter-Steph du Toit’s place, with the utility forward missing the French game with a concussion while Louw moves back to his customary fetcher role on the side of the scrum.
Trevor Nyakane is on the bench as back-up tighthead, edging out Ruan Dreyer for the position while Dan du Preez will make his debut for the Boks as well as he was included on the bench for the game.
Coetzee said Vermeulen brings a lot of experience to the team: “Duane is very experienced and fits in well with our plan for Saturday. He is a great lineout and ball-carrying option to fill the void left by Pieter-Steph, while his leadership and experience will offer great support to Eben Etzebeth.
“His presence and knowledge of the French is also a huge benefit for us. Duane has made good contributions since joining us at the beginning of the week, and I am looking forward to his combination with Siya and Francois,” said Coetzee.
Pollard’s playing opportunities over the past two years have been halted by a series of injuries.
"Handré has trained exceptionally hard the past few months and he is looking forward to the opportunity to once more start in the Springbok jersey,” said Coetzee.
“Elton has started in all 10 tests so far this season and has made good contributions and I am pleased with his development. However, both flyhalves need playing time to continuously work on their game management in different conditions.”
Louw made a good impression last week in what was only his second test, and this week he will make his starting debut in Paris.
“Wilco did very well last Saturday and gained valuable experience when he came on as an early replacement for Coenie. He deserves the opportunity to start against a strong French pack,” said Coetzee.
“Francois is also rewarded for continued good performances. He is a leader is his own right with an exceptional high work rate.”
According to Coetzee, the Springboks will be looking for an improved performance in all areas on Saturday after the disappointing performance in Dublin:
“We have to fight back and play much better after our poor performance against Ireland.
“France is a much changed and improved side and will certainly pose a different challenge this time. They have a new half back combination and a strong ball carrying midfield, so they’re definitely not the same team we faced in June in South Africa,” said Coetzee, who furthermore believes the two big focal points for Saturday will be the battle for set piece dominance and gain line advantage.
“We have to be more accurate at the breakdown, especially with our reaction speed and fundamentals. Discipline, as well as our decision-making in tackle situations, are of paramount importance.
“We understand the importance of this match and we have to be at our best in terms of tactics, physicality and mental preparation, in order to confront and match France in front of their passionate supporters,” explained Coetzee.
SPRINGBOK TEAM TO FACE FRANCE
15. Andries Coetzee, Emirates Lions – 10 caps, 0 points
14. Dillyn Leyds, DHL Stormers – 6 caps, 0 points
13. Jesse Kriel, Vodacom Bulls – 26 caps, 30 points (6 tries)
12. Francois Venter, Toyota Cheetahs – 4 caps, 0 points
11. Courtnall Skosan, Emirates Lions – 10 caps, 10 points (2 tries)
10. Handré Pollard, Vodacom Bulls – 23 caps, 190 points (2 tries, 30 conversions, 37 penalties, 3 drop goals)
9. Ross Cronje, Emirates Lions – 7 caps, 10 points (1 tries)
8. Duane Vermeulen, Toulon (France) – 37 caps, 10 points (2 tries)
7. Siya Kolisi, DHL Stormers – 26 caps, 20 points (4 tries)
6. Francois Louw, Bath (England) – 55 caps, 40 points (8 tries)
5. Lood de Jager, Vodacom Bulls – 33 caps, 20 points (4 tries)
4. Eben Etzebeth (captain), DHL Stormers – 64 caps, 15 points (3 tries)
3. Wilco Louw, DHL Stormers – 2 caps, 0 points
2. Malcolm Marx, Emirates Lions – 12 caps, 15 points (3 tries)
1. Tendai Mtawarira, Cell C Sharks – 96 caps, 10 points (2 tries)
Replacements:
16. Bongi Mbonambi, DHL Stormers – 12 caps, 0 points
17. Steven Kitshoff, DHL Stormers – 20 caps, 0 points
18. Trevor Nyakane, Vodacom Bulls – 34 caps, 5 points (1 try)
19. Franco Mostert, Emirates Lions/Ricoh Black Rams (Jap) – 16 caps, 0 points
20. Dan du Preez, Cell C Sharks – 0 caps, 0 points
21. Rudy Paige, Vodacom Bulls – 12 caps, 5 points (1 try)
22. Elton Jantjies, Emirates Lions/NTT Shining Arcs (Japan) – 21 caps, 198 points (2 tries, 37 conversions, 38 penalties)
23. Damian de Allende, DHL Stormers – 28 caps, 15 points (3 tries)
