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Cape Town - On Saturday against Wales, the Springboks will field their NINTH loose trio in 13 Tests this year.
With Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw both out of contention after having to return to their European clubs, coach Allister Coetzee has had to mix things up yet again.
READ: Springboks' 2017 loose forward merry-go-round
Pieter-Steph du Toit stays on in the No 7 jersey, solidifying his command of that position, while the Boks are also boosted by the return of Siya Kolisi at No 6 after the national vice-captain missed the Italy game to return to South Africa for the birth of his child.
That left No 8 as the decision that required the most thought from Coetzee, and in the end he has opted to give a starting debut to Dan du Preez.
Uzair Cassiem and Oupa Mohoje would have been the other options - both those players are on the bench - but it seems to be Du Preez's physicality is what won Coetzee over.
The coach explained that, in the northern hemisphere, he was more inclined to have a physical, direct No 8 than a light-footed linking player.
"I used Uzair Cassiem (at the beginning of the year) because of his lineout ability and he’s able to play in the wide channels with his mobility and his passing game," Coetzee explained from Cardiff.
"But in the northern hemisphere I feel you need a similar player to what we had last week in Duane Vermeulen, and that is what Dan du Preez brings for us.
"I think Dan has really trained well and grown as a player in the last four weeks with us. It’s a great opportunity for him."
Du Toit, meanwhile, will provide the lock cover, which has afforded Coetzee the luxury of having two loose forwards on the bench in Cassiem and Mohoje.
"Pieter-Steph du Toit covers No 5 lock for us ... he’s done that ... when Lood wasn’t playing, Pieter-Steph was the back-up lock for us," the coach said.
"We’ve got Oupa Mohoje as a specialist No 7 flank with lineout ability covering for us and Uzair Cassiem is well apt at No 6 and No 8, so I think we’re well covered off the bench."
Kick-off on Saturday is at 16:30 SA time.
Teams:
Wales
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Hallam Amos, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rob Evans
Substitutes: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18. Rhodri Jones, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin
South Africa
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Warrick Gelant, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Oupa Mohoje 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Lukhanyo Am
