Four changes as Boks strengthen for Twickenham

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus tried to keep as much continuity as possible, but announced a side that made four changes to the match 23 for Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship return match against Argentina in London.

There is a return for Ox Nche to the side, while Grant Williams, Jesse Kriel and Bongi Mbonambi all return to the bench to strengthen the side after their big win in Durban.

While there was some talk of Durban hero Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu moving to fullback for the clash to cover for a hamstring injury to Damian Willemse, all Saturday’s injury concerns dissipated by Tuesday morning’s first training session in London and Willemse will stay at 15 and Feinberg-Mngomezulu gets another shot at 10.

Nche returns after pulling out of the clash on Friday and seems to be over his niggle while injury concerns to Cheslin Kolbe (shoulder) and Ethan Hooker (ankle) have also disappeared.

NOT EASY TO KEEP CONTINUITY

Erasmus said he would have liked to have kept the same side for the return match but the changes on the bench were definitely for what they expect from Argentina this weekend.

“No, it was not easy (to keep continuity). We wouldn’t have liked to make four changes in the team. A guy like Ox had missed out last week and Bongi was away with family illness.

“Grant was injured and Jesse was probably a change with what Argentina are bringing in terms of the backline and the speed and the way they really open up the game. We would have loved to give André (Esterhuizen) a chance and obviously Franco (Mostert) is not here. We would have loved to do that but we thought only two days of training, maybe just two training sessions.

“You can't change too much. We tend to think we are a squad of 40 players and we can interchange but just two days of training wasn't too easy to do.”

Those losing out in London are prop Boan Venter, who packed down at loosehead last weekend - this weekend Jan-Hendrik Wessels will cover at loosehead prop off the bench with Nche back, while Andre Esterhuizen in the backline and Marco van Staden up front lose out. Morne van den Berg, who scored a try in Durban, falls away for Williams to return.

UNCHANGED REST OF THE SQUAD

The rest of the squad remain unchanged, with Eben Etzebeth starting at lock alongside Ruan Nortje in what will mark his 138th test, with captain Siya Kolisi, who will earn his 98th cap, partnering up with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the loose trio.

In the backline, Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are again the starting halfbacks, while Ethan Hooker and Cheslin Kolbe retain their places on the wing, Damian de Allende and Canan Moodie in the midfield, and Damian Willemse at fullback.

“This match is a Final for us, and we know how dangerous Argentina can be, so we selected combinations we feel will be best suited for this game,” said Erasmus.

“There are minimal personnel changes, with the bulk of the team having done the job for us last week against the Pumas in Durban and our other Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches.

“Ox and Grant could have played last week if we really needed them, but Boan (Venter) and Morne (van den Berg) did really well, while Jesse was rotated in the last two matches and is raring to go. The same applies to Bongi, who last played against Australia, and who is excited for this opportunity.

“Their experience, combined with the younger players in the team, makes this an exciting squad, which is exactly what we need in a match that will essentially be the Castle Lager Rugby Championship decider.”

CHALLENGING BATTLE

Erasmus expected a challenging battle against the Pumas and said: “Last week they were in the running to win the title, and they’ll be determined to make up for that result, so we are expecting them to throw everything at us on Saturday.

“They may be out of the title race, but they have beaten the All Blacks, Wallabies, and British & Irish Lions this season, and it would be a big target for them to defeat us as well, so it’s going to be another hard grind.

“They have a powerful pack and hard-running backs, and they showed in the first half last week that if they stick to their structures and play well, they are a huge threat.

“That said, the focus for us is on what we have to do to try to win the competition twice in a row for the first time, so the stakes are high for us, and we know what we are capable of if we remain within our structures and play for the full 80 minutes.”

Erasmus added: “We’ll be in the fortunate position to know exactly what we need to do in the match to win the competition before we take the field as Australia and New Zealand face one another before our match, but we still need to go out there and deliver against a quality outfit.”

The match kicks off at 15h00 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Springbok team to face Argentina in London:

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Rassie Erasmus names his Springbok team to face Argentina at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon in the final round of #TheRugbyChampionship 🇿🇦🚨 pic.twitter.com/Csk6c3t8pD

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 30, 2025

15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 44 caps, 66 points (6t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)

14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 45 caps, 126 points (21t, 3c, 5p)

13 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 19 caps, 40 pts (8t)

12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 92 caps, 55 points (11t)

11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 4 caps, 0 points

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) - 14 caps, 95 points (3t, 25c, 10p)

9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 45 caps, 75 pts (15t)

8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 38 caps, 10 points (2t)

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 92 caps, 70 pts (14t)

6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 97 caps, 65 points (13t)

5 Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls) – 12 caps, 0 pts

4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 137 caps, 35 points (7t)

3 Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 29 caps, 5 pts (1t)

2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 83 caps, 125 pts (25t)

1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 45 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 80 caps, 70 points (14t)

17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 10 pts (2t)

18 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 23 caps, 0 pts

19 RG Snyman (Leinster) – 45 caps, 15 points (3t)

20 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 58 caps, 55 points (11t)

21 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 23 caps, 25 pts (5t)

22 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 23 caps, 133 pts (2t, 42c, 13p)

23 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 83 caps, 95 points (19t)

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Argentina:

Played 39; Won 34; Lost 4; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 382, Points against: 757; Tries scored 164, Tries conceded 73; Highest score 73-13; Biggest winning margin 60 points. Win per cent 87.1 per cent.

Miscellaneous:

The Springboks have won 11 of their last 13 matches against the Pumas, dating back to 2018, with their only two defeats being in Argentina, in Santiago Del Estero (last season) and in Mendoza (in 2018).

The teams have crossed paths in London only once before, in the bronze final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the Boks winning the match 24-13 at the Olympic Stadium.

Siya Kolisi will play his 98th test match, leaving him only two games short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game.

Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 138 tests when he takes the field on Saturday.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Jesse Kriel have both scored 95 test points and require only five to make it to 100 in the green and gold.

The total test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 797. There are 264 caps in the backline, with 533 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 343 caps.

The average caps per player in the backline is 38, the forwards 67, while the players on the bench average 43.