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Springboks team v All Blacks: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus backs ‘South Africa’s golden boy’ to shine and star forward misses out Following the announcement of the Springboks team to face the All Blacks at Ellis Park, here are our winners and losers from Rassie Erasmus’ selection. As this will be the opening Test encounter of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, Springboks head coach Erasmus has named a powerful matchday squad and recalled several of the first choice players who remained behind in South Africa earlier this month while the rest of the squad headed to Buenos Aires to take on Argentina in a warm-up Test. Amongst the changes to the side is the selection of experienced inside centre Damian de Allende, who will make his 100th appearance for his country, while Pieter-Steph du Toit takes over the captaincy from Siya Kolisi, who misses out due to injury. So without further ado, we unpack the Springboks team for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series opener and pick out our winners and losers. Winners Damian de Allende It will be a momentous occasion for the experienced midfielder when he takes to the field for the 100th time for the world champions in what should be an electric atmosphere at the spiritual home of South African rugby, Ellis Park. The 34-year-old has come a long way since making his Test debut against Argentina in 2014 and over the years he has cemented himself as the Boks’ first choice number 12. Renowned for his superb physicality, the Boks’ 10th Test centurion will be expected to make an impact on either side of the ball and will be determined to celebrate a victory in his milestone match. Pieter-Steph du Toit With first choice skipper Kolisi ruled out with an injury, his back-row partner Pieter-Steph du Toit will take over the captaincy on Saturday. Although the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year has big boots to fill, he is no stranger to the leadership role as he has already led the team in three previous Tests this season. Du Toit requires only one more appearance after this match to join the exclusive club of Springbok centurions, with the blindside flanker running out in his 99th Test match this weekend. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu Erasmus was spoilt for choice when it came to selecting his starting fly-half for this showdown as he had to choose between Handre Pollard, Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. While each of them brings their own strengths to the Boks’ cause, he opted for the latter. Feinberg-Mngomezulu made his return to action – after a two-month stint on the sidelines due to an ankle injury – in the Springboks’ narrow win over Argentina in Buenos Aires a fortnight ago. The golden boy of South African rugby delivered an underwhelming performance on that occasion, but Erasmus is backing him to shine in this fixture and he will have to deliver the goods if the Boks want to emerge as victors at Ellis Park. Grant Williams With the likes of Williams, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg and Herschel Jantjies all in the squad, and the likes of Faf de Klerk and Embrose Papier deemed surplus to requirements, South Africa are blessed with a plethora of excellent scrum-halves. For this encounter, it was a straight shootout between Williams and Reinach for the Boks’ number nine jersey. The former has been chosen to start with the latter having to be satisfied with a bench spot. Blessed with electrifying pace, a bullet-like pass and an eye for the try-line, Williams will be a key attacking weapon for the home side. Paul de Villiers There will be plenty of pressure on the rookie tearaway’s shoulders in this fixture as he has big foots to fill when he takes to the field in the Springboks’ famous number six jersey for first choice openside flanker and regular captain Kolisi. Despite having made only three appearances for South Africa, De Villiers has taken to international level like a duck to water and caught the eye with fine displays in all of his previous Tests, emerging as one of the hosts’ best players so this year. Strong second-row presence Erasmus has named Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortje as the starting locks while Cobus Wiese will offer cover for those two off the replacements bench. After missing South Africa’s Nations Championship matches against England, Scotland and Wales in July due to concussion, Etzebeth returned to action against Argentina and played the full 80 minutes of that clash, showing that he is match fit and ready to go against the All Blacks. Nortje’s selection is not surprising as he cemented himself as Etzebeth’s second-row partner in the Boks’ first choice starting XV in 2025 with several superb showings. Meanwhile, Wiese’s selection on the bench is a fitting reward after he caught the eye with a fine 40-minute effort as a sub against Los Pumas. Ox Nche The 31-year-old’s return to action is a shot in the arm for the world champions as he has been sidelined since sustaining a knee injury during the early stages of the Boks’ Nations Championship victory over England at the start of July. After making a full recovery, Nche returned to training recently and will be keen to show his value to the team with a strong scrummaging display against the All Blacks. Apart from his prowess in the scrums, the 2025 World Rugby Player of the Year nominee is also a powerful ball carrier and strong on defence – all qualities which should come in handy for the Boks on Saturday. Wilco Louw and Zachary Porthen Springboks team: Siya Kolisi to miss All Blacks opener while Rassie Erasmus makes key fly-half call Louw was amongst the players who stayed behind in South Africa while the Boks were in action in Argentina and his selection alongside Nche as the starting props is a clear indication that South Africa will be targeting New Zealand in the scrum as both are strong in that department. Meanwhile, Porthen has emerged as a real find in the Test arena since making his Springboks debut against Japan during last year’s Autumn Nations Series. A devastating ball carrier, the 22-year-old will be expected to make a positive impact when he eventually replaces Louw. Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Marco van Staden The Bulls duo have been included on the replacements bench for this encounter, with Wessels named as the replacement hooker and Van Staden set to offer loose forward cover. Versatility is certainly amongst their strengths with Wessels also capable of packing down at loosehead prop while Van Staden is more than capable of doing a job at hooker. Their ability to play multiple positions allows Erasmus to go with a six/two split on his bench and both will be expected to bring plenty of energy to proceedings when they enter the fray. Losers Siya Kolisi The experienced flanker and the world champions’ regular captain will be bitterly disappointed to miss out on this eagerly anticipated encounter due to a hamstring injury sustained in the Boks’ recent triumph over Argentina in Buenos Aires last month. Kolisi also sat out the Boks recent Nations Championship matches against England, Scotland and Wales before impressing in his comeback match against Los Pumas. However, Kolisi only lasted 24 minutes in that game as he injured his hamstring again and will now be forced to watch the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series opener from the sidelines. Thomas du Toit The 31-year-old has been a regular and committed member of the world champions’ squad in recent seasons but despite shining for PREM Rugby heavyweights Bath this past season, he misses out on selection for this crucial encounter. A powerful and mobile front-rower, who also knows his way to the try-line, Thomas du Toit is capable of packing down on the loosehead and tighthead side of the scrum. With Gerhard Steenekamp firmly entrenched as the Boks’ back-up loosehead, Du Toit must have expected to get a look-in on the tighthead side when Nche was elevated to the starting XV after being declared fit. However, it wasn’t to be as Louw and Porthen were the preferred choices on the other side of the scrum. Aphelele Fassi The Toshiba Brave Lupus-bound full-back received plenty of game-time for the Springboks this year but after starting in their last three Tests – against Scotland, Wales and Argentina – he misses out on selection for this encounter. Despite being in the starting line-up for those three fixtures, Fassi hardly set the world alight as he delivered solid but unspectacular performances and it’s not surprising that he misses out on selection to Damian Willemse, who has been the world champions’ first choice number 15 in recent seasons. Handre Pollard With Feinberg-Mngomezulu getting the nod in the starting line-up and Libbok preferred as his back-up on the bench, it means that there is no place in the matchday squad for the most experienced of South Africa’s trio of world class playmakers. Pollard’s main strength is his accuracy as a goal-kicker, which meant that many pundits believed the double Rugby World Cup winner would be a shoo-in for a role off the bench – a handy option especially if the Test is closely contested during its latter stages. Instead, Erasmus has opted for the creativity of Feinberg-Mngomezulu which means there’s no place in the matchday 23 for Pollard. Bulls duo Johan Grobbelaar and Elrigh Louw were both late inclusions on the replacements bench for the Bulls’ encounter against the All Blacks in Pretoria last weekend and their introduction to that game had a positive impact on proceedings. After the Bulls initially struggled against the men in black, Grobbelaar and Louw came on in the second half and helped their team to add some respectability to the score as the home side eventually suffered a 50-19 defeat after trailing 24-0 at half-time. The duo must have fancied there chances of being involved in the Test but miss out with their Bulls teammates Wessels and Van Staden preferred on the bench. Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust. Lood de Jager The veteran second-row made his long-awaited return to the international arena in the clash against Argentina and was in the thick of the action during that game’s early stages as he was prominent in the lineouts and was physical either side of the ball. However, he faded badly during the latter stages of the opening half and was replaced at half-time, with Wiese coming on in his place and showing his class with a fine all-round effort. It appears that these performances have determined who will be the back-up lock at Ellis Park, with De Jager the one who misses out. Cameron Hanekom Another one of the Bulls contingent who is unlucky to miss out, Hanekom must have fancied his chances to be included in the matchday squad after delivering a player-of-the-match performance in the Boks’ hard-fought 17-10 triumph over Argentina. The 24-year-old caught the eye with a high work-rate either side of the ball and eventually scored the match-winning try. Hanekom’s style of play is similar to Kolisi’s as he is physical in his approach and seldom loses possession in contact while he is also adept at counter-rucking. However, like Louw, he misses out on the back-up loose forward role with their fellow Bull Van Staden getting the nod. READ MORE: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry: Trophy ‘like no other’ revealed ahead of Test series opener