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Cape Town - The Springboks will comfortably dispatch Scotland in their Test in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, if local bookmakers are to be believed.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer was forced to ring the changes for the Test at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium after seven of his players were released to their European clubs.
It opened the door for several promising young players to make their mark, with Handré Pollard being one of five uncapped players named in the Springboks’ match-day 23. The team also showed six changes from the side which beat Wales by 31-30 in Nelspruit last weekend.
The four uncapped players on a new-look bench are Marcel van der Merwe (prop), Stephan Lewies (lock), Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (loose forward) and Marnitz Boshoff (flyhalf).
Also on the bench are Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Francois Hougaard and Zane Kirchner, none of whom have played any Test rugby yet this season.
However, this new-look Bok team will also come up against a relatively inexperienced Scottish side, and for that reason the bookies decided to not give the Scots any glimmer of hope, with Sportsbet.co.za tipping South Africa to win by the comfortable margin of 25 points.
The Springboks have strong record against Scotland, having won 19 of the 24 Tests the teams have contested.
Scotland do boast five wins over the years, but all of those have been in Scotland, and the closest they have come to a win in South Africa was a 29-25 reverse at Kings Park back in 2003.
They also ran South Africa close in last year's Test in Nelspruit, where the Boks fought back from 17-6 down in the second half to win 30-17.
Scotland also head into the Test on the back of three consecutive away wins - against Argentina (21-19), Canada (19-17) and America (24-6).
While I do agree with the bookies' prediction of a Bok win, the margin of 25 is perhaps slightly optimistic for this new-look Springbok team...
Remember to follow Sport24's LIVE UPDATES on the Test at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (17:00 kick-off).
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Oupa Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Zane Kirchner
Scotland:
15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Substitutes: 16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Moray Low, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Tyrone Holmes, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Dougie Fife, 23 Peter Murchie
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer was forced to ring the changes for the Test at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium after seven of his players were released to their European clubs.
It opened the door for several promising young players to make their mark, with Handré Pollard being one of five uncapped players named in the Springboks’ match-day 23. The team also showed six changes from the side which beat Wales by 31-30 in Nelspruit last weekend.
The four uncapped players on a new-look bench are Marcel van der Merwe (prop), Stephan Lewies (lock), Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (loose forward) and Marnitz Boshoff (flyhalf).
Also on the bench are Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Francois Hougaard and Zane Kirchner, none of whom have played any Test rugby yet this season.
However, this new-look Bok team will also come up against a relatively inexperienced Scottish side, and for that reason the bookies decided to not give the Scots any glimmer of hope, with Sportsbet.co.za tipping South Africa to win by the comfortable margin of 25 points.
The Springboks have strong record against Scotland, having won 19 of the 24 Tests the teams have contested.
Scotland do boast five wins over the years, but all of those have been in Scotland, and the closest they have come to a win in South Africa was a 29-25 reverse at Kings Park back in 2003.
They also ran South Africa close in last year's Test in Nelspruit, where the Boks fought back from 17-6 down in the second half to win 30-17.
Scotland also head into the Test on the back of three consecutive away wins - against Argentina (21-19), Canada (19-17) and America (24-6).
While I do agree with the bookies' prediction of a Bok win, the margin of 25 is perhaps slightly optimistic for this new-look Springbok team...
Remember to follow Sport24's LIVE UPDATES on the Test at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (17:00 kick-off).
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Oupa Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Zane Kirchner
Scotland:
15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Substitutes: 16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Moray Low, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Tyrone Holmes, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Dougie Fife, 23 Peter Murchie
