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Cape Town - Former lock Kobus Wiese has questioned Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s decision to demote Lood de Jager to the bench.
De Jager was the standout Springbok during last weekend’s shock defeat to Japan in Brighton, but there was no spot for him in the starting team for Saturday’s clash against Samoa in Birmingham.
Victor Matfield retains his spot in the second row, while Eben Etzebeth is promoted to the starting team in place of De Jager.
Newspaper reports on Wednesday indicated that De Jager would not start against and Samoa and it was confirmed when Meyer named his team later in the day.
Wiese, who saw the reports regarding De Jager’s absence, expressed disappointment at his demotion.
The 1995 World Cup winner tweeted the following on Wednesday morning prior to the Bok side being named:
Lood de Jager was our best forward on the field against Japan, yet Meyer drops him. Really!!!
— Kobus Wiese (@4KobusWiese) September 23, 2015Saturday’s clash at Villa Park is scheduled for 17:45 (SA time).
Teams:
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jesse Kriel
Samoa
TBA
