Reuters 3y

Springboks lose Frans Malherbe, bring in Ox Nche for All Blacks clash

Rugby

Prop Ox Nche will come into South Africa's starting line-up after coach Jacques Nienaber on Tuesday made one injury-enforced change to the side for the Rugby Championship rematch against New Zealand on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Nche will start at loosehead with Trevor Nyakane switching to tighthead after Frans Malherbe was ruled out with a neck injury.

There is also a change on the replacement's bench where loose forward Jasper Wiese takes over from Marco van Staden for the last game in this year's competition.

Van Staden suffered a shoulder injury in the latter stages of last week's 19-17 defeat by the All Blacks in Townsville.

It means there is no comeback for star winger Cheslin Kolbe, who missed the team's first three matches in Australia in the southern hemisphere tournament, where they lost twice to the Wallabies and then to the All Blacks last weekend.

Kolbe, who had a leg injury, trained with the team on Monday and Tuesday, but he was unable to complete the last training session, ending hopes of making a return.

"We made a big step-up in terms of our performance last week and having reviewed the match, there is no doubt we delivered a performance worthy of a victory," Nienaber said.

"With that in mind we opted for continuity in our team. We are bitterly disappointed about the results in the last few weeks and everyone in our team realises the importance of finishing the Rugby Championship on a winning note.

"We know it is going to take a colossal 80-minute effort, but the drive to succeed and motivation to win this weekend is as big as it gets. Last week we stuck to our DNA and style of play, and with a little more luck we could have come away with the result, so we need to ensure that we are better at it this week."

Team: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Sbu Nkosi, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Kwagga Smith, 6. Siya Kolisi (captain), 5. Lood de Jager, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1. Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Steven Kitshoff, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Franco Mostert, 20. Jasper Wiese, 21. Herschel Jantjies, 22. Elton Jantjies, 23. Frans Steyn.

^ Back to Top ^