Eben Etzebeth of South Africa is tackled by Scott Barrett of New Zealand. Photo: Photosport
Springboks v All Blacks
Kick-off: 3am Sunday 1 September (NZT)
Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Live blog coverage on RNZ Sport
After being initially ruled out of this weekend's Rugby Championship test against the All Blacks, lock Eben Etzebeth has been named in the Springbok squad. The two-time World Cup winner was initially sidelined with a knee injury, however coach Rassie Erasmus reversed his call today in Johannesburg.
The move means Marco van Staden drops out of the squad to accommodate Etzebeth on the bench as part of the now-famous Springbok 'bomb squad', the name given to the carefully selected forwards Erasmus injects into the game simultaneously.
"Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco," said Erasmus.
"There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team. We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what's best for the team, and it's admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is."
However, this late change hasn't exactly come as a huge surprise to those familiar with Erasmus's coaching style - especially since he could barely hide a grin when discussing Etzebeth's chances of playing at a press conference on Tuesday.
South Africa Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus Photo: PHOTOSPORT
He has habitually named teams early on in the week of test matches, then tinkered with the lineup all the way till kick-off. Last year in the one-off match against the All Blacks at Twickenham, he withdrew Willie le Roux for loose forward Kwagga Smith, which meant that scrumhalf Cobus Reinach was the only backline cover in a seven/one forwards and backs split on the bench.
The Springboks went on to win the test 35-7, handing the All Blacks the heaviest defeat in their history.
When he takes the field, it will be Etzebeth's 125th in the green and gold jersey, which will see him move past Bryan Habana as the second most capped Springbok of all time. He will also be only three tests away from breaking the all time record of 128, held by Victor Matfield.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson names his side on Thursday afternoon (NZT).
Springboks: 1 Ox Nche 2 Bongi Nbonambi 3 Frans Malherbe 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit 5 Ruan Nortje 6 Siya Kolisi (c) 7 Ben-Jason Dixon 8 Jasper Wiese 9 Cobus Reinach 10 Sacha Ferinberg-Mngomezulu 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse 12 Damian de Allande 13 Jesse Kriel 14 Cheslin Kolbe 15 Aphelele Fassi
Bench: 16 Malcolm Marx 17 Gerhard Steenkamp 18 Vincent Koch 19 Eben Etzebeth 20 Elrigh Louw 21 Kwagga Smith 22 Grant Williams 23 Handre Pollard
All Blacks: TBC
