Milestone moment: Willie le Roux celebrates 100th Test as Rassie Erasmus reshuffles side for second Italy clash

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus made sweeping changes to his team for the second Test against Italy on Saturday in Gqeberha.

Veteran fullback Willie le Roux will play in his 100th Test in a new-look backline that does not feature any player who started against the Azzuri in the first clash in Pretoria. Edwill van der Merwe will get his second cap for the world champions as he joins fellow winger Makazole Mapimpi and Le Roux in the back three for the duel in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (5.10 pm kick-off).

The exciting duo of Grant Williams and Manie Libbok will start as scrumhalf and flyhalf, respectively. In a surprising midfield, Canan Moodie partners with André Esterhuizen to complete the backline.

Up front, there’s a welcome sight of Pieter-Steph du Toit returning after a lengthy injury lay-off and a lock-pairing of Ruan Nortjé and Salmaan Moerat. Moerat will resume the captaincy duties. There is still no sign of regular skipper Siya Kolisi, who missed the previous two games through injury, as the Boks manage their leader.

Erasmus also named three uncapped players, tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, utility forward Cobus Wiese and utility back Ethan Hooker, as part of a five-three replacement bench split. Wiese could run out with his World Cup-winning brother Jasper when he takes to the field, and they will become the 37th brother-pairing for the national side. The last pair was Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse.

Only seven players featured in last weekend’s clash after Erasmus promised to ring the changes following a rather disappointing 42-24 victory at Loftus Versfeld.

“Willie has been a stalwart for us in the last few years after making his debut against Italy in Durban in 2013, and he’s a fantastic playmaker, so we are thrilled to see him achieve this incredible feat,” Erasmus said about the playmaker's 100th match.

“Only seven players in Springbok history have played 100 Tests before him, and to reach this milestone is testament to the player and team man that Willie is. Having come a long way with him during his career, I have no doubt that he’ll put the team before his own achievements this weekend, and as a team we would certainly like to make it a special and memorable occasion for him.”

Erasmus and his Boks expect another tough outing against the Italians, who put up a massive fight in the first Test to defuse the Bok ‘Bomb Squad’ in the second half. They outscored the world champions in the second forty in Pretoria, and Erasmus’ men will want to deliver a stronger performance.

“We said from the outset that we would rotate the team as we have a large and very talented squad, and all but three of the players have played Test rugby before.

“Adding to that, 13 players in this squad have won a World Cup before, 11 of whom are in the starting lineup and two on the bench, and that shows the depth we have as we continue to build our squad for the next few seasons and ultimately the 2027 Rugby World Cup.”

Springboks XV

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Thomas du Toit. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker.