BREAKING: SPRINGBOKS NAME POWERFUL TEAM FOR FRANCE BATTLE

Damian Willemse returns from injury to start at fullback in a strong Springbok team that’s set to celebrate Siya Kolisi’s 100th Test cap.

The Springboks are braced for battle against France on Saturday. Image: SA Rugby

Siya Kolisi will become the ninth Springbok centurion when he leads South Africa out against France at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

Rassie Erasmus – who will guide the side in his 50th Test as head coach – has made six personnel changes to the side that defeated Japan last week.

This massive feat for Kolisi and Erasmus adds to a string of remarkable achievements, which include winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups and Rugby Championship titles, as well as the British & Irish Lions series.

Erasmus has selected Boan Venter to replace the injured Ox Nche at loosehead prop, while Thomas du Toit (tighthead prop), Eben Etzebeth (lock), Pieter-Steph du Toit (flanker) and Damian Willemse (utility back) all return to the starting line-up.

The only change amongst the replacements sees RG Snyman (lock) move from the starting team to the bench in place of Kwagga Smith (loose forward), who is carrying a niggle.

This will see Venter, Malcolm Marx (hooker), and Thomas du Toit pack down in the front row, while Etzebeth will join forces with Lood de Jager in the engine room.

Erasmus made only two changes to the backline. Willemse starts at fullback in place of Cheslin Kolbe, who moves to his regular position at wing with Kurt-Lee Arendse, while the experienced centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will man the midfield, and halfbacks Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are set to dictate play at halfback.

The Bulls trio of Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, and Wilco Louw will again serve as the back-up front row, along with locks Snyman, Ruan Nortje, and hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen. The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Manie Libbok.

Eleven players in the team participated in the Springboks’ narrow RWC quarter-final victory over Les Bleus at the same venue two years ago – Etzebeth, Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Snyman, Reinach, Arendse, Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Willemse, and Libbok.

SPRINGBOK TEAM TO FACE FRANCE IN PARIS:

15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 45 caps, 66 pts (6t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)

14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 47 caps, 126 pts (21t, 3c, 5p)

13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 85 caps, 100 pts (20t)

12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 94 caps, 55 pts (11t)

11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 28 caps, 115 pts (23t)

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 16 caps, 120 pts (5t, 31c, 11p)

9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 47 caps, 85 pts (17t)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 40 caps, 10 pts (2t)

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 93 caps, 70 pts (14t)

6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 99 caps, 70 pts (14t)

5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 72 caps, 25 pts (5t)

4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 138 caps, 35 pts (7t)

3 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 30 caps, 5 pts (1t)

2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 85 caps, 135 pts (27t)

1 Boan Venter (Edinburgh) – 5 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 0 pts

17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 12 caps, 5 pts (1t)

18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 5 pts (1t)

19 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 47 caps, 15 points (3t)

20 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 14 caps, 0 pts

21 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 25 caps, 15 pts (3t)

22 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 25 caps, 25 pts (5t)

23 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 25 caps, 141 pts (2t, 46c, 13p)

STATS AND FACTS:

Springbok record against France:

Played 46; Won 28; Lost 12; Drawn 6. Points for: 994, Points against: 720. Tries scored 111, Tries conceded 64. Highest score 52-10; Biggest win 42 points. Win % 61%.

- Craig Lewis

IMPERIOUS SOUTH AFRICA INFLICT HEAVIEST EVER TEST DEFEAT ON ALL BLACKS

Springboks smash New Zealand in Wellington as Argentina beat Australia

Siya Kolisi of South Africa celebrates with the Freedom Cup after winning The Rugby Championship match between New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa. Photograph: Hagen Hopkins/Getty

Rugby Championship: New Zealand 10 South Africa 43

South Africa shrugged off a litany of injuries to humiliate New Zealand 43-10 in a Rugby Championship stunner in Wellington on Saturday as the hosts crashed to their worst-ever test defeat.

With their backline in tatters and trailing 10-0 after an early try to debutant Leroy Carter, the Springboks scored 36 unanswered points in an extraordinary onslaught a week after falling 24-17 to the hosts at Eden Park.

Cheslin Kolbe lit the spark with a try in each half, while Damian Willemse, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman and Andre Esterhuizen also crossed for the Springboks after the break.

South Africa are making a habit of humbling the New Zealanders, having inflicted their previous worst defeat – a 35-7 thrashing at Twickenham in the lead-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

It was a win made all the sweeter by the challenges thrown at the visitors, who lost lock Lood de Jager, outhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and fullback Aphelele Fassi in the first half to injuries.

Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach also spent time off the ground from a head-knock but returned after passing a head-injury assessment.

South Africa's Cheslin Kolbe dives in to score a try. Photograph: Grant Down/AFP via Getty

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi, a colossal presence throughout the night, said the performance had been brewing after a week of introspection following Eden Park.

“We played fearless, we said we’re not going to hold back. We know what we need to do and we believe in ourselves. That’s the most important thing out there,” he said.

“All we wanted was just a win. And we’re just happy that we got there and ... are able to fight for the Rugby Championship. So it’s open now and that’s all that matters to us.”

South Africa’s bonus-point win lifted them to second on the table, one point behind Australia, who fell 28-26 to Argentina in Sydney earlier in the day.

The third-placed All Blacks are level with defending champions South Africa on 10 points, one ahead of the Pumas after four rounds of the tightest Rugby Championship.

All four nations have two wins and two defeats, and all to play for.

South Africa next face Argentina in back-to-back tests while Australia take on New Zealand in two tests doubling as their annual Bledisloe Cup series.

Shell-shocked All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said there were no excuses for their dramatic fade-out.

“They just got momentum, won the air, won a lot of set piece ... They were just good tonight,” he said of South Africa.

“We thought we had a really good week but obviously it wasn’t deep enough preparation.”

Early on at Wellington Regional Stadium, there was little sign of the rout in store as the Springboks reeled from injuries and trailed by 10 points following winger Carter’s try and an early penalty.

It took Kolbe to keep them in the hunt as he intercepted centre Billy Proctor’s pass and bolted 70 metres to the line.

The All Blacks led 10-7 at the break but the Springboks’ forwards ramped up the set-piece pressure, winning a decisive scrum penalty three minutes from the restart.

Kolisi made a midfield break and replacement centre Esterhuizen flung the ball wide to Kolbe who danced over at the right corner.

Three minutes later, the livewire winger was wincing in the hands of trainers after a no-arms tackle by lock Tupou Vaa’i.

Manie Libbok knocked over the resulting penalty to stretch the Springboks’ lead to 17-10.

From there, the All Blacks struggled to maintain possession or withstand the waves of Springboks attackers.

Willemse dotted down near the hour-mark, beating three defenders, before Smith crossed in the 69th minute.

Snyman, earlier denied a try due to a knock-on, then barged over in the 73rd minute, with Esterhuizen completing the demolition with his team’s sixth try six minutes later to leave the crowd’s black-clad fans stunned.

With New Zealand losing their first-ever match in Argentina against the Pumas last month, Robertson and his staff face a fortnight of queries before meeting the Wallabies at Eden Park.

“We’ve got to be really, extremely honest with each other,” he said.

- The Irish Times