Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was on the bench when the Springbok team for this Test was first read out on Monday. Twenty-four hours before kickoff, the number 10 jersey is his again.
MATCH DETAILS:
FIXTURE: Springboks v All Blacks, Second Test
SERIES: Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series
DATE: Saturday, 29 August 2026
VENUE: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
KICKOFF: 17h10 SAST
SPRINGBOK TEAM TO FACE THE ALL BLACKS:
15 Damian Willemse
14 Cheslin Kolbe
13 Jesse Kriel
12 Damian de Allende
11 Ethan Hooker
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
9 Cobus Reinach
8 Jasper Wiese
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
6 Siya Kolisi (captain)
5 Ruan Nortje
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Wilco Louw
2 Malcolm Marx
1 Ox Nché
REPLACEMENTS:
16 Deon Fourie
17 Gerhard Steenekamp
18 Thomas du Toit
19 Lood de Jager
20 Andre Esterhuizen
21 Cameron Hanekom
22 Morne van den Berg
23 Manie Libbok
Handre Pollard picked up a niggle at training on Wednesday. He was assessed on Friday morning, and the call was made to pull him out.
That hands the shirt straight back to the man who had just lost it. Feinberg-Mngomezulu started against Argentina and then against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, was moved to the bench for Cape Town, and now runs out at flyhalf with Manie Libbok covering him.
Cheslin Kolbe’s week has gone the other way and finished in the same place. He limped off after an hour at Ellis Park and was ruled out of this one when the team was first named.
He has since come through fit. Kolbe takes the right wing, Kurt-Lee Arendse drops out of the matchday squad altogether, and Ethan Hooker keeps the number 11 he inherited when Kolbe went down.
Pieter-Steph du Toit runs out for his 100th Test, the 11th Springbok to reach the mark.
Rassie Erasmus, Springbok head coach:
“It is a remarkable achievement to play 100 Test matches, and for Pieter-Steph to deliver week in and week out the way he has over the years is incredible.”
Ox Nché joins the 50-cap club in the same fixture, which is a fair reward for a loosehead who spent most of the first Test making the All Black scrum look ordinary before the rest of the game slipped away.
Kolisi wears the armband at 6 after being bracketed with Paul de Villiers earlier in the week while the medical staff watched how he trained. He came through it. Du Toit shifts to 7 alongside him.
All of this sits on top of a 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park, five tries to one, and a 12-Test winning run gone in eighty minutes. Andre Esterhuizen scored the only Springbok try of the night. He is at 20 on Saturday.
“Three changes in three days and half the country arguing about the number 10. Cape Town does not care — win the Test!” – 🎙️Jay
The bench splits six forwards to two backs in everything but name, with Fourie, Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, De Jager and Hanekom in front of Van den Berg and Libbok. There is heavy cover for the tight five and very little for the outside backs, which tells you what the coaches think decided the first Test.
DHL Stadium has been kind to this group. The wider point is simpler than the selection noise around it: a series that was meant to run the distance is now a one-match shot at levelling it.
The match will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Images by SA Rugby
