Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says the versatility of Pieter-Steph du Toit is a vital asset for his side.
Du Toit will again pack down at lock when the Boks tackle France in Paris on Saturday.
However, this time he will wear the No 4 jersey, with regular incumbent Eben Etzebeth sidelined with a foot injury.
“It’s actually just another new position in the scrum. He is basically another loose forward who packs down as lock in the scrum,” Erasmus told Netwerk24 on Thursday.
Before last Saturday’s clash against England, Du Toit played four Tests in a row at flank, and while there were calls in some quarters for him to return to the loose trio for the French Test, Erasmus does not think it will be an issue.
“He offers the team a lot at flank and lock. You don’t often get versatile players like him," the Bok mentor noted.
Franco Mostert will be Du Toit’s lock partner on Saturday, with Erasmus saying he expected a big physical battle.
“They have a massive pack. I thought we had a big pack for the Test against England, but the Tricolores will be powerful up front,” Erasmus added.
Kick-off is at 22:05 (SA time) on Saturday.
Teams:
France
15 Maxime Medard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Damian Penaud, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Arthur Iturria, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Substitutes: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Gael Fickou
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Cheslin Kolbe
