The historic, sold-out first rugby test against Portugal on Saturday has gained even more significance for South Africa in the aftermath of their bruising series against Ireland.
The Springboks had planned to experiment in the Portugal match with the 2027 World Cup in mind. However, the game has also become a crucial trial for the Rugby Championship, following a challenging series against Ireland, which won the second test last weekend in Durban to draw the series.
Injuries have plagued the Springboks: lock Franco Mostert broke a leg and will miss the rest of the year, hooker Malcolm Marx suffered a tibia fracture in a crocodile roll that earned Ireland captain Caelan Doris a yellow card, and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit and wing Cheslin Kolbe are out for up to six weeks with unspecified injuries. They will miss the first Rugby Championship game on Aug. 10 against Australia in Brisbane and are doubtful for the second match a week later, but are expected to be available when New Zealand visits at the end of August.
The Springboks matchday 23 features seven uncapped players and seven more with fewer than seven caps. Starting new caps include Bulls front-rowers Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Johan Grobelaar and flanker Phepsi Buthelezi. Coming off the bench will be Stormers hooker Andre-Hugo Venter (son of former Bok flanker Andre Venter), Lions flanker Ruan Venter (no relation), scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, and fullback Quan Horn.
“We’ve tried to do our succession planning and we’ve tried not to let that loss against Ireland affect our mindset,” coach Rassie Erasmus said. “We didn’t have this opportunity in 2020, now we do, so we must stick with it.”
Only four players from last Saturday’s 25-24 loss to Ireland were retained: Salmaan Moerat, who will captain the Boks for the first time, fellow lock RG Snyman, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, and utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Moerat, marked as a future full-time Springboks captain, has led South Africa Schools, the Junior Springboks, and the Stormers. “It’s great that he comes from a rich rugby background, but that’s not why we picked him,” Erasmus said. “We picked him because he is a great leader and he doesn’t stand back physically or tactically. So it’s well deserved.”
The newcomers will be supported by World Cup winners Lukhanyo Am, Manie Libbok, Cobus Reinach, Trevor Nyakane, and Thomas du Toit, all playing their first international this year. It is Am’s first test since last August.
Portugal earned this test on its Rugby World Cup performance in France, where it beat Fiji, drew with Georgia, and was competitive with Wales. This year, it rebounded from a shock loss to Belgium by reaching a second straight Rugby Europe Championship final, where it was outmuscled again by Georgia 36-10.
After Patrice Lagisquet left following the World Cup, a new coach wasn’t appointed until April. Simon Mannix, the former All Blacks flyhalf who has coached in France and Ireland, won his first match in charge last weekend when Namibia was beaten by a record 37-22 in Windhoek.
Among five changes to that team and six new reserves, the biggest was the loss of tireless flanker Nicolas Martins, Portugal’s best forward.
“We will treat them and the occasion with the respect it deserves,” Erasmus said. “For us, personally, it’s important to live up to our standards and build momentum going into the Rugby Championship.”
