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

WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS: ALL BLACKS CAN END FOUR-YEAR WAIT AS SPRINGBOKS' TOP SPOT UNDER THREAT

Top spot in the World Rugby rankings is up for grabs this weekend in the Rugby Championship as the Springboks could concede the number one ranking to the All Blacks or Ireland.

The opening round of the tournament sees South Africa host Australia at the iconic Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday, with the later kick-off seeing Argentina host the All Blacks in Córdoba.

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw taking place after the November internationals later this year, the world rankings are particularly important for the respective nations in terms of seedings.

With the help of World Rugby, we take a look at the weekend’s permutations.

Rankings permutations

Rassie Erasmus’ men’s standing at the summit of the rankings is under threat as they are likely to concede top spot in the event of a defeat or a draw to Australia in their first game of their title defence.

A stalemate in Johannesburg would mean that the All Blacks would have to beat Argentina later in the day to return to the summit for the first time since November 2021. If the Wallabies claim an upset, then a draw will be enough for New Zealand to leapfrog the Springboks.

Third-placed Ireland are not in action this weekend but can still benefit from the opening round of the Rugby Championship results if there are upsets.

In the unlikely event that both South Africa and New Zealand lose by more than 15 points. If only one of these were to happen, Ireland would still climb a place to second above that beaten side.

A victory by any margin for the Boks will see them retain their number one ranking, despite the fact that the world champions are unable to improve their rating due to the 10.70 points difference between the teams before home weighting is factored in.

This is because New Zealand can only gain a maximum of 0.45 rating points for beating lower-ranked Argentina, and they currently trail South Africa by 0.72 points.

There are possible movements elsewhere in the rankings as Argentina will oust Australia from sixth place – which would be enough for a Band 1 place come the RWC 2027 draw in December – if Australia are beaten and they avoid defeat against New Zealand. A draw for Australia away to the world champions would have the same impact if Los Pumas are victorious over New Zealand for the first time on home soil.

Argentina cannot fall any lower than seventh this weekend, even with a heavy loss to New Zealand.

SOUTH AFRICA (1) 92.78 v AUSTRALIA (6) 82.08

South Africa win by 15 points or less – South Africa 92.78, Australia 82.08 (No change)

South Africa win by more than 15 points – South Africa 92.78, Australia 82.08 (No change)

Draw – South Africa 91.78, Australia 83.08

Australia win by 15 points or less – South Africa 90.78, Australia 84.08

Australia win by more than 15 points – South Africa 89.78, Australia 85.08

ARGENTINA (7) 82.05 v NEW ZEALAND (2) 92.06

Argentina win by 15 points or less – Argentina 83.75, New Zealand 90.36

Argentina win by more than 15 points – Argentina 84.60, New Zealand 89.51

Draw – Argentina 82.75, New Zealand 91.36

New Zealand win by 15 points or less – Argentina 81.75, New Zealand 92.36

New Zealand win by more than 15 points – Argentina 81.60, New Zealand 92.51

Latest World Rugby rankings

As of 15/08/2025

1 South Africa 92.78

2 New Zealand 92.06

3 Ireland 89.83

4 France 87.82

5 England 87.64

6 Australia 82.08

7 Argentina 82.05

8 Scotland 81.57

9 Fiji 80.50

10 Italy 77.77

11 Georgia 74.69

12 Wales 74.05

13 Samoa 72.48

14 Japan 72.29

15 Spain 69.12

16 USA 68.45

17 Uruguay 67.52

18 Portugal 66.44

19 Tonga 65.46

20 Chile 63.83

- Jared Wright

RASSIE ERAMUS & EBEN ETZEBETH POST MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE | SPRINGBOKS