Rassie Erasmus’s side will extend one of the best runs in Springboks history when they win against Wales on Saturday!
It’s a streak built the hard way, through Wellington, Paris, Dublin and Ellis Park, against every Rugby Championship and Six Nations opponent the Springboks have faced along the way.
🦌THE SPRINGBOKS TEAM TO FACE WALES 🏴
15 Aphelele Fassi (Toshiba) – 16 caps, 35 pts (7t)
14 Jaco Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 89 caps, 110 pts (22t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 98 caps, 55 pts (11t)
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 31 caps, 120 pts (24t)
10 Vusi Moyo (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped
9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 95 pts (19t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 45 caps, 15 pts (3t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 97 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 2 caps, 0 pts
5 Ruben van Heerden (Montpellier) – uncapped
4 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 pts
3 Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Begles) – uncapped
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 88 caps, 135 pts (27t)
1 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 17 caps, 10 pts (2t)
REPLACEMENTS:
16 Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 5 pts (1t)
17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 30 caps, 10 pts (2t)
19 Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)
20 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 34 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne) – 24 caps, 25 pts (5t)
22 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 29 caps, 145 pts (2t, 48c, 13p)
23 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
Head Coach: Rassie Erasmus
Four uncapped players sit in that starting side. Vusi Moyo and Jaco Williams get to debut in front of their own Sharks crowd, Ruben van Heerden arrives via Montpellier, and Carlu Sadie via Bordeaux Bègles. That Erasmus is willing to blood four new Springboks with a streak this long on the table tells you everything about how settled this squad has become.
The run itself started away from home, in Wellington, when the Springboks beat the All Blacks 43-10. It kept going in France, in Ireland, and through an unbeaten Six Nations sweep that included wins over Scotland and England on South African soil.
Saturday’s 10th win came against a stubborn Scotland outfit at Loftus Versfeld, 42-28, a result that took two second-half comebacks from the visitors to settle.
Two from two is also the Springboks’ record so far in the southern conference of the inaugural Nations Championship, having beaten England and Scotland to sit top of the table. A third straight win over Wales would complete a perfect start to the new competition, on top of extending the broader Test streak to 11.
Wales arrive off the back of a 35-21 loss to Argentina, a result that leaves them fifth on the northern conference log.
They’re not short of signs of life, though. Steve Tandy’s side ran Scotland and Ireland close in the Six Nations and beat Italy in their final match of that tournament, and Erasmus has been direct about the threat they still carry.
“Wales put up a good fight in their Six Nations matches against Scotland and Ireland, and they defeated Italy in their final match of the tournament. They also beat Fiji in the Nations Championship before going down against Argentina in a competitive match last week, so they are on the rise and will come out with a point to prove this weekend.” – Jay
Eleven straight wins is the kind of number that defines an era, not just a season. What makes this one count for more is who’s carrying it. Four uncapped players walking into a Test with that streak on the line says everything about the depth Erasmus has built.
Pieter-Steph du Toit captains the side for a third consecutive match, with Herschel Jantjies back among the replacements for the first time since 2023 and Paul de Villiers and Cobus Wiese both in line for their third and fourth caps respectively.
Regulars Siya Kolisi, Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth remain out of the mix, a reminder of just how deep this squad now runs.
Kick off is 17:40 SAST on Saturday at Kings Park, Durban.
The Springboks are about to walk away with 11 straight, a perfect Nations Championship southern conference record, and four new caps to build toward the next World Cup cycle.
📸 Images via SA Rugby / Nations Championship
