Damian de Allende set for Springboks 100th Test cap as Rassie Erasmus makes big Siya Kolisi decision

Damian de Allende will run out in his 100th Springboks Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

Springboks centre Damian de Allende will become the 10th player in South African rugby history to earn 100 Test caps when he takes the field against the All Blacks in Saturday's inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener at Ellis Park.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus' match-day squad feautures players who remained in South Africa to prepare specifically for this series alongside those who played in the recent 17–10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires.

Lock Eben Etzebeth and flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the only two players retained in the starting XV from the Test in Argentina. Feinberg-Mngomezulu pairs up with Grant Williams at halfback, while a lethal back three of Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Damian Willemse joins the record-breaking midfield pairing of De Allende and Jesse Kriel.

Up front, loosehead prop Ox Nché returns from injury to join Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw in the front row. Etzebeth reunites with Ruan Nortje in the second row, while captain Pieter-Steph du Toit leads a back row featuring Jasper Wiese and young flanker Paul de Villiers, who gets the nod at openside.

“The All Blacks are a quality team, and we selected combinations we think would be best suited for the challenge this weekend,” said Erasmus.

“The squad is well balanced with players who remained in South Africa to train for this series and some of the players who featured against Argentina. It certainly helped to have some players return from injury last week and to get back into top-flight Test rugby, while some of the others who had a heavy workload in the Nations Championship had sufficient time to recover from the physical toll on them.”

Commenting on the omission of regular captain Siya Kolisi, Erasmus explained: “Siya trained well with us this week, and although we could have selected him for this clash, we thought it would be best to select Paul (de Villiers) for this weekend’s game.

"We are playing four Tests against the All Blacks and Paul has been playing well, so we are excited to give him a chance this weekend in what will be his first Test match against New Zealand, while taking a precautionary approach to Siya’s return.”

Erasmus was also full of praise for De Allende ahead of his milestone cap.

“We are all very excited for Damian, and to achieve this milestone in this series makes it even more special,” Erasmus added. “He’s a great team man, and servant to the game, so we hope we can make it a memorable day for him.”

Looking ahead to the encounter, the Bok coach concluded: “They have a well-rounded squad with physical forwards and an exciting backline, so we have to be sharp and accurate in our execution from the outset.