Kolisi celebrates 100 as Erasmus makes switches for France showdown

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, with Bok coach Rassie Erasmus – who will guide the side in his 50^th Test as head coach – making 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 Castle Lager 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 lineup.

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. The loose trio of Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Jasper Wiese is the same that started in the Boks’ 30-26 defeat against France in Marseille in 2022.

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.

The Vodacom 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 Boks’ 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 – while 12 players featured in the match in Marseille in 2022, which includes Marx, who was ruled out early in the RWC campaign due to a knee injury.

“We always planned to make a few changes for this match, and we’ll continue to rotate the players throughout the tour, so we can give as many players as possible a chance while at the same time trying to achieve our objectives on the field,” said Erasmus.

“This, however, is the team we feel is best suited to what we expect from France, and the way we would like to play this weekend. Many of them have also faced France in 2022 and 2023, so they know what to expect from the hosts and have also had a taste of what it is to play in front of their passionate home crowd.”

Commenting on Kolisi playing in his 100^th Test, Erasmus said: “This is a huge milestone for Siya and we are all delighted for him. He is a level-headed player and although this will be a big occasion for him, and a match that we would like to make special for him, he is fully focused on the task at hand, so he won’t allow that to overshadow what he must do on the field.

“This is a huge game, and the entire team knows how determined France will be to make up for the World Cup result, so we’ll celebrate Siya’s achievement after the match. That said, hopefully we can make it a memorable game for him.”

With the narrative in the French media and from the France camp being on revenge for what happened in 2023, Erasmus said they were preparing for the match as they do for every other Test and that they had to be on point on Saturday to get the desired result.

“France have a quality team all around, with good forwards and backs, and they are a side that plays for the full 80 minutes,” said Erasmus.

“They will also have a fanatical home crowd behind them, which will inspire them immensely, so we are fully aware of the magnitude of this match, and we know what we have to do on the field.

“The game against Japan certainly helped in getting some of the players back into Test-match mode, and hopefully that will set us in good stead going into this game.

“The key for us is that we have to be accurate in everything we do, make the most of the chances we create, and to keep fighting from the first whistle until the hooter sounds because there is no doubt it’s going to be another epic battle between the teams.”

The match kicks off at 22h10 and the action will be broadcast live on SuperSport’s Grandstand and Rugby channels during DStv Open Time.

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%.

Miscellaneous:

• Siya Kolisi, who made his Test debut against Scotland in Nelspruit in 2013, will play his 100^th Test match, making him only the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game. The last player to reach this significant feat was Willie le Roux against Italy in July.
• Erasmus will guide the team in his 50^th Test as the Springbok head coach, with the former Springbok flanker’s win record currently standing at 73.4%.
• The last time the Springboks met France was in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, where they registered a 29-28 victory, and went on to lift the trophy for the second time in a row.
• The entire Springbok backline, apart from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, featured in the RWC quarter-final against France – either in the starting lineup or playing off the replacements bench.
• Eleven players in the matchday squad played in the RWC match against France, while 12 players were involved in the match-up between the teams in 2022.
• The Springboks have won the last four matches between the teams in Paris, dating back to 2013, with their highest winning margin in those encounters being by nine points. Les Bleus last won a match against the Boks in the French capital in 2005.
• The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are924. There are 362 caps in the backline, with 562 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further177 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is52, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 22.