In for Coetzee: Louw (left)
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has made two changes to his pack for their Rugby Championship clash with New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.
Lock Flip van der Merwe replaces the suspended Eben Etzebeth while Bath's Francois Louw comes in for Marcell Coetzee on the openside flank.
There are four more changes on the bench, where Coetzee joins Dean Greyling, Andries Bekker and midfield back Juan de Jongh.
"The New Zealanders are good on the ground which is why we decided to go for a specialist openside flank in Francois," said Meyer.
"Marcell has been very good this season and has played a lot of rugby, but in this match we feel he will be more useful as an impact option."
Jannie du Plessis has been named at tighthead prop despite struggling with a hamstring niggle. Meyer said the Springboks' medical team is working very hard on the injured players and that Du Plessis will be given until Friday to fully shake off his injury, but if he fails to recover in time, Pat Cilliers will start.
"We will not take any chances with injured players and we have time to get him and Pat (Cilliers) match ready," said Meyer.
Greyling will be on the bench to provide prop cover, while Bekker takes over from Van der Merwe in the number 18 shirt. De Jongh comes in for Lwazi Mvovo on the bench.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (capt), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Johan Goosen, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.
Date: Saturday, September 15
Kick-off: 19:35 (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Referee: George Clancy (IRE)
Comments
Realbull says...
Great to see Morné steyn still in team, a real legend! Pitty that the boks forwards are being dominated.
Posted 06:13 14th September 2012
Lucasrg says...
Yep, this coach will not go that far.
Sad to see Lambie on the bench, not to mention few other great players that are not even on the bench, or on the pitch as they should. Sack this dude
Posted 20:34 13th September 2012
hellovanite says...
Forget louw, if you want a fetcher out of the top drawer why isn't Heinrich Brüssow playing? at least bring him on at half time with Louw starting at 7, I think Coetzee is a strong running 6 and Vermulen at 8 provides better balance. Keep Alberts at lock and develope him as a Brad Thorne/Luke Romano type player with Bekker being the more roving type lock. I thought he was immense for the sharks in the scrums. I also think Pineer is a little confused at scrumhalf and thinks hes the flyhalf and put through some pointless kicks against the Aussies. A free state inside pairing of Pretrious and Goosen would be slick giving Steyn a lot more space and time. Goosen plays close to the line and you need a flyhalf that will take the ball to the defense in both hands. I also would like to see Aplon get another shot a fullback, he is a genuie line breaker but I'm not sure how he's player at WP right at the moment? South Africa has the players from 1 to 15 to play an expansive game with purpose, width and structure, they just need a coach that can realise that what SA does best will depend entirely on who he selects
Posted 13:51 13th September 2012
Bones7 says...
Am I right in thinking that by this stage in his tenancy PDV became the first SA coach in ages to win on NZ soil?
Posted 09:19 13th September 2012
Ferdie says...
rugbyphile - not such a rugbyphile after all - dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium is fully enclosed, as used in rwc. i don't see any hope for your: 'too cold and wet for anyone to run at all'. You can moo and baa at your tv set.
Posted 00:11 13th September 2012
flyman says...
I cannot believe that HM is such a slow learner, he persists with Morne Steyn at fly half and Kirchner at FB. The AB's must be licking their lips for this one and dreraming of racking up a century!
Posted 23:01 12th September 2012
rugby_phile says...
@rugbyfile. Its a covered stadium mate, although you might still be right about the cold.
Posted 22:41 12th September 2012
rugby_lord says...
@ Martinmarais78 - "closer to PDV legacy". He is already there. PDV started off playing running rugby but unfortunately, you can't teach old dogs new tricks. HM is a disaster from day one.
Posted 22:36 12th September 2012
scot_rsa says...
Any team in the world would love Lambie and Goosen to be fighting for the no10 shirt, it's a dream situation. Like Giteau and Larkham slugging it out. Quality inside centre like Frans Steyn just waiting for quick front-foot ball or the offload in the half gap. Or alternatively employ a bread-and-butter no10 who won't get the backline moving, will kick most of the ball away and gets shunted back in the tackle. Hmmm, options, options.
Posted 18:36 12th September 2012
JayStarr says...
I give up.
Alberts is WAY too big and slow to be facing the All Blacks' loosies - especially with Vermeulen playing too... Completely unbalanced back row. Flo is the right addition, but Alberts should have been moved to 4 and Coetzee should've moved over to 7. Now we have a slow back row and an idiot at 4 who has not contributed anything positive to a rugby game since 2009... And this with Steyn and Kirchner still there. Either HM is insane or I am insane.
I am getting so fed-up with this bullish attitude of HM I hope the All Blacks don't just beat us, I want them to take HM's Springbok team and lame "winning rugby" gameplan apart... Because I don't think anything else will make him come to his senses. If M Steyn does ONE good thing in this game, it would mean that he's selected for another year...
Take them out All Blacks. You'll do us a favour.
Posted 15:33 12th September 2012
atg77 says...
I wonder if HM has been sharing notes with the Scottish football manager; his selections fail, yet he makes the same mistake again and again. Still no Goosen and Lambie in the starting line up... when will this man learn?... from a neutral fan.
Posted 14:58 12th September 2012
melkdave says...
Well as i expected no real change from HM anCo ,pat it props just ok 2nd row unbalanced backrow,limted FH ,and out of form 13 doing same job as 12 ,wasted wingers and a FB that can do nothing but hoof it high and aimlesslyMyself i would have gone with these players
15)P.Lambie
14)B.Habana
13)J.deJongh
)12) F.Styen
11)F.Hougaard
10)J.Goosen
9)R.Pineer
8)D.Vermulen
7)M.Coetzee
6)F.Louw
5)J.Kruger
4)A.Bekker
3C.Courtizain
2)A.Strauss
1)D.Greyling
16)C.Burgen
17)JdP
18)W.Alberts
19)K.Danial
20)E.Janites
21)L.Mwov
Posted 12:36 12th September 2012
ManWarrior says...
@new_j4a, I prefer annointing oil instead of grease and an alter fire instead of campfire...but you're spot on with the prayer! At this point, this might be HM's only hope. You're welcome to join me bud. Even and intellectual like you could do it...
Anyways, back to the rugby. Louw is definitely a great valua add and just what we need against the AB's. Flip van der Merwe is living on borrowed time. I'm not a Shark supporter but Anton Bresler would be a better pick!
So join me in a fast as we pray that the Springboks find their real potential! Go Bokke!
Posted 12:09 12th September 2012
rugbyphile says...
Pedestrian error-ridden captain, no spirit in the forwards, no pace in the backs---they will conceed at least 9 points in scrum penalties and lose by at least 20.. The only thing which may narrow the margin is the likelihood that Dunedin will surpass even Wellington and it will be too cold and wet for anyone to run at all----spectators will just moo and baa as is their wont---too cold to actually open your mouth and talk .
Posted 12:02 12th September 2012
Bones7 says...
I agree with philipjfry, Coetzee has been very good but he lacks presence at the breakdown, and whilst the traditional openside, blindside and 8 roles are now very much interchangeable specific skills need to be covered, if not by them then in the pack at the least. Bismarck was effectively playing the fetchers role which freed that responsibility somewhat from the back row. Without him in the side that skill, which I feel should be in the opensides arsenal anyway, is just not there. A back row should be about balance and unfortunately Vermeulen, Alberts and Coetzee are too oriented toward ball carrying. Louw will get in and do the dog work, disrupting the opposition and slowing and stealing their ball which has been sorely lacking.
Posted 11:01 12th September 2012
bokke31 says...
thats a joke ????? MORNE again !!!!! wtf. our only good forward fit on the bench.
a loss by at least 40pts. so pathetic 15.
le stade toulousain is stronger than this team.
Posted 10:55 12th September 2012
zambokke says...
I don't see that we can compete with NZ at 4-8. I hope that the guys play out of the skins though as we need 110% and the performance of their life at 4-8 to stand a chance in this game. 4-8 will dictate who gets the platform to attack/control. Weirdly, I feel more confident at 9-15 than many on this blog as defence and experience will be as important as attack.
Posted 10:15 12th September 2012
meneer says...
We lost on the ground to Argentina, then again to Australia - never looked like breaking the gain line or actually scoring points in any of the 6 games HM has been in charge. Yet we take a team based on the same flawed structure to the home of the worlds best. Eish boetie no matter how much you shout at the walkie talkie it won't work, we do not put enough width on the ball to stretch any defense or create any opportunities. HM if you are reading boet, sometimes you don't have to smash down the wall - just open the door.
Posted 09:21 12th September 2012
georgesmith says...
F. Louw can shine and steal the shine off ABs. There are two quality players on the bench J. Goosen and P. Lambie. Much depends on when H. Meyer sends the 2. If M.Steyn has an off day then coach must not waste time in getting him out. With J. Goosen there, I feel Boks attack will have some sting.
Posted 09:14 12th September 2012
philipjfry says...
HM benching Coetzee has been on the cards since the first 20min of the first test against England. You need one of the flanks to protect and secure ball at the rucks and while Coetzee runs and tackles strongly he just doesn't convince at the rucks. I think everyone in the world would agree that B. du Plessis is probably our outstanding player and this is in part due to his play in and around the rucks. The Springboks miss him badly. Had he not been injured I recon HM would have stuck with Coetzee.
Including de Jongh on the bench is almost not worth it. My fear is that he will come on regardless for the last 15 - 20min when we are trailing and be expected to turn the game around. He is a confidence player, not a match winner. We lack a genuine impact player at the moment; Alberts did the job on the last end-of-year tour, but he was always going to start since because of those performances.
Posted 08:52 12th September 2012