Durban \u2013 Seven changes have been made to the Bok team that will play Samoa in the deciding Rugby World Cup Pool D clash at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on Friday.<\/p>\n
Victor Matfield, who returns from a hamstring strain after a two-match absence, will captain the Springboks.<\/p>\n
The Bulls lock takes John Smit’s place as captain, who drops to the bench, in a pre-planned move to allow Bismarck du Plessis to start his first match of the tournament.<\/p>\n
The Springboks need at least one point from the match to be sure of qualifying for the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
There are five changes in the pack as Du Plessis is partnered with the returning Tendai Mtawarira and brother Jannie du Plessis in an all-Sharks front row.<\/p>\n
The final change among the forwards sees the return of Heinrich Brussow to the back row.<\/p>\n
Bakkies Botha was unavailable for selection after injuring a hamstring against Namibia. Smit, CJ van der Linde, Gurthro Steenkamp and Willem Alberts all drop to the bench.<\/p>\n
JP Pietersen and Fourie du Preez return to the starting line-up among the back division, while the versatile Francois Hougaard drops to the bench. Fit-again Jean de Villiers can also be found on the bench.<\/p>\n
Friday’s match kicks off at 20:30pm (9:30am SA time).<\/p>\n
South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morn\u00e9 Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Br\u00fcssow, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.<\/p>\n
Substitutes: 16 John Smit, 17 Gurthr\u00f6 Steenkamp, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Jean de Villiers. – Kemantha Govender, BuaNews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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