Despite travelling with the team to Argentina, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was left out of the matchday-23 squad for their penultimate Rugby Championship clash against the host in Santiago del Estero on Saturday night.
Salmaan Moerat will instead captain the team, after fully recovering from the injury he sustained during the tour of Australia. According to the Boks coach Rassie Erasmus, there’ll be a new role for Kolisi on match-day.
“Siya wasn’t brought here to play, but to be on standby if anybody gets injured. He’s also here to help lead the team off the field, while preparing for this important game. It was always the plan that he wasn’t going to play. The one thing we also want to do is get Siya in the coaches’ box. We usually have Duane on the sideline who relays messages to Siya and the decision-makers on the field, but Siya doesn’t know what happens in the coaches’ box,” said Erasmus.
The coach said this will be a learning curve for Kolisi, as he would be able to see how the coaching staff reach a decision and send messages to the team.
Despite the new role, Erasmus assured that Kolisi will be available for selection for the return match against Argentina at the Mbombela Stadium next week, after which he will attend to his broken nose.
“He can still play next week at Mbombela and then get his nose reset. It can be done no longer than between four and six weeks, so he’s in that time frame. He will get it sorted after the Test at Mbombela,” explained Erasmus.
The new look squad will see Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Jasper Wiese, Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel retain their starting places from the team that defeated New Zealand in Cape Town two weeks ago.
Lukhanyo Am and Malcolm Marx have been moved from the bench to a starting position, while Eben Etzebeth goes the other way to join the retained Bomb Squad of Vincent Koch, Gerhard Steenekamp, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith and Jaden Hendrikse.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Manie Libbok will complete a bench once again consisting of six forwards and two backs.
Etzebeth will equal Victor Matfield’s Springbok record of 127 Test appearances if he takes the field.
A win against the in-form Los Pumas who are also in the run for the title, will see the Boks claim the Championship title for the first time since 2019.
“It would be amazing to wrap up the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title this weekend, but it won’t be easy, and we have a bigger picture in mind as well, which is to build squad depth with an eye on the 2027 World Cup. The only way we can do that is to expose the younger players to tough opposition under difficult circumstances, and so far, all of them have risen to that challenge. We’re excited about this squad and to see what the younger players can do in tough playing conditions with such a passionate support base in Argentina and at a new stadium,” added the coach.
The match will be played on Saturday night.
