A new name on the captain’s list
Nobody saw this one coming. Andre Esterhuizen will lead South Africa out at Optus Stadium on Sunday, and he does it at inside centre in a side barely recognisable from the one that beat New Zealand in Baltimore.
The 32-year-old becomes the 68th man to captain the Springboks. He already wears the armband at the Sharks for the new season, and Rassie Erasmus made clear on Tuesday that the promotion was earned rather than handed out. “He has brought so much to our squad off and on the field, both at centre and in the loose trio, and he thoroughly deserves this opportunity,” the head coach said.
Erasmus also framed the call as a way of widening the group of players who can lead. “It will also help build our leadership core even more within the team,” he said.
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Thirteen changes, two survivors
Eben Etzebeth and winger Ethan Hooker are the only starters kept from the win over the All Blacks. Seven changes up front, six in the backs.
Handre Pollard is back in the No. 10 shirt after missing the Cape Town Test through injury. Herschel Jantjies partners him at scrum-half, and it is his first Test start since November 2021. Canan Moodie joins Esterhuizen in midfield, with Aphelele Fassi at full-back and Edwill van der Merwe on the other wing.
The front row is Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen. Franco Mostert is fit again and locks with Etzebeth. Paul de Villiers and Elrigh Louw sit on the flanks, and Marco van Staden packs down at No. 8.
The bench is where the old guard waits. Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Wilco Louw are the replacement front row, Lood de Jager covers lock and Jasper Wiese picks up his 50th cap. Erasmus has gone with a traditional 5-3 split, with Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn covering the backs.
Wallabies in form at home
Erasmus is not treating Perth as a rotation fixture. Australia have won four of their last five and drew the other one, against the Pumas in Argentina. “They are a proud nation and will certainly want to continue building momentum,” he said, pointing to the physicality of their pack and a backline he called very exciting.
The Boks gave the players a few days off after the travel from the United States, trained twice in Terrigal and restarted their usual Test week on Tuesday. Kick-off is 17:30 local time on Sunday, with Italy’s Andrea Piardi refereeing.
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