Nienaber makes two changes to Bok team for Saturday’s final

26 Oct 2023 | Sports Writer

Bongi Mbonambi

SARU

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made only two changes to his starting team for Saturday's Rugby World Cup final, employing a seven-one split on the bench again.

He recalled the 2019 final halfback pairing of Handré Pollard and Faf de Klerk to the run-on side, making them the most capped nine-and-ten combination in Springbok history.

According to a statement, they are among a starting team that features 10 players who started in the RWC final four years ago and is the most experienced in Springbok history with a combined total of 987 caps.

Four players on the bench also featured in the match-23 in the final at Yokohama Stadium, while 15 of the players in the squad appeared in the Springboks' 35-7 victory the last time South Africa and New Zealand met at Twickenham in August.

"This is an experienced team with several players who played in the last Rugby World Cup final and who know exactly what to expect at Stade de France on Saturday and what it will take to retain the title," said Nienaber.

"The players who will be playing in their first World Cup final have also proven their worth as warriors throughout this campaign and they are all ready for this massive occasion.

"We have said many times that we pick teams for varying game plans depending on the opponent and that we use all 23 players to try and achieve those goals.

"We've gone from a five-three bench split to a seven-one split to give us the best chance of being successful. We have plans in place to mitigate injuries in the backline, but we're excited about our plan and we embrace the risk."

#rugbyworldcup2023 @WorldRugby will take no further action in the #BongiMbonambi #TomCurry incident. SA Rugby said they have absolute faith in the honesty and integrity of Bongi." @Springboks will make no further comment on the matter. pic.twitter.com/c4UuMkoctd
— AlgoaFMNews (@AlgoaFMNews) October 26, 2023