Kolbe’s back in Cape Town for unofficial fourth Test against Lions
Yes please! We have a fourth Test and Cape Town’s favourite rugby son Cheslin Kolbe will play the British & Irish Lions on Wednesday night in a South African ‘A’ team that is a Springboks Test team in all but name, writes Mark Keohane.
It isn’t quite the starting Springboks XV that will front the Lions in the official first Test at the Cape Town stadium on the 24th of July, but it won’t be far off the XV asked to tame the Lions in less than a fortnight.
Only the French-based hooker Joseph Dweba has not played Test rugby and Lukhanyo Am captains the ‘A’ team in the absence of Springboks captain Siya Kolisi who is among a group of players isolating because of positive Covid results.
Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber and Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus have named nine players from the 2019 World Cup final victory against England in Japan and five of the seven World Cup final starting backs, with just winger Sbu Nkosi and veteran flyhalf Morne Steyn having not started that day.
Nkosi did start the semi-final (for the injured Cheslin Kolbe).
This is close to the side that would have played against Georgia in the Covid enforced cancelled second Test and Nienaber and Erasmus have had no option but to play these players, with many of them not having had a game for the past month.
Kolbe has been sensational for Toulouse in helping them win the Top 14 and Heineken Cup, while the SA ‘A’ bench is particularly strong in the front row.
There are seven overseas based South Africans in the starting XV and 14 in the match day squad of 25, which will be reduced to 23 closer to kick-off.
The Lions have feasted on inferior provincial teams in beating the Sigma Lions 56-14, the Sharks 54-7 and another Sharks XV 71-31, but this contest on Wednesday night will provide the first proper Test of the tour.
South Africa ‘A’ team to face British & Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium:
15 – Willie le Roux
14 – Cheslin Kolbe
13 – Lukhanyo Am (captain)
12 – Damian de Allende
11 – Sbu Nkosi
10 – Morné Steyn
9 – Faf de Klerk
8 – Jasper Wiese
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit
6 – Marco van Staden
5 – Franco Mostert
4 – Eben Etzebeth
3 – Trevor Nyakane
2 – Joseph Dweba
1 – Steven Kitshoff
Replacements (from):
16 – Malcolm Marx
17 – Coenie Oosthuizen
18 – Vincent Koch
19 – Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
20 – Rynhardt Elstadt
21 – Herschel Jantjies
22 – Jesse Kriel
23 – Damian Willemse
24 – Kwagga Smith
25 – Elton Jantjies
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