Ruan Nortje will fill the void left by Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert after the Springboks named their side to take on Ireland in Dublin.<\/b><\/p>\n
De Jager and Mostert were both sent-off over consecutive weekends against France and Italy respectively.<\/p>\n
The former was banned and his subsequent appeal then failed according to Rapport<\/a>, thus ruling him out of the encounter, while the latter had his red card rescinded, but he has not made the South Africa<\/a> squad despite being available.<\/p>\n Nortje duly partners Eben Etzebeth at lock while RG Snyman is on the bench and will earn his 50th cap if he comes on.<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus<\/a> has largely restored the team that stunningly defeated France 32-17 almost two weeks\u2019 ago, with the only major alteration being that of Nortje and the selection of Canan Moodie following Kurt-Lee Arendse\u2019s concussion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of this team were rested last week to ensure that they recover from the physically taxing match against France, and it was always our plan to name an experienced outfit against Ireland<\/a>,\u201d the Springboks head coach said.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of these players have faced Ireland in Dublin, as well as in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and Castle Lager Incoming Series, so they understand the magnitude of this challenge and what to expect from the hosts. So, we believe this is the right group of players for this match.\u201d<\/p>\n Composition of the Springboks 23<\/p>\n Moodie partners Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe in the back three while Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel form the centre partnership, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach are at half-back.<\/p>\n The back-row sees Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi combine with the starting XV completed by a front-row of Boan Venter, Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit.<\/p>\n On the bench, South Africa have once again opted for the hybrid option as Andre Esterhuizen dons the 21 jersey, potentially giving them both a 6-2 or 5-3 split.<\/p>\n The out-and-out forwards are Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Snyman and Kwagga Smith, with Grant Williams and Manie Libbok covering the backs.<\/p>\n On Snyman\u2019s milestone, Erasmus said: \u201cWe are thrilled for RG and we\u2019ll do everything we can to hopefully make this a special occasion for him. He\u2019s a great player and team man, and had it not been for injuries along the way, he would have probably earned 50 caps a while ago. He deserves this achievement, and it speaks volumes about the quality of the player he is.\u201d<\/p>\n