The Springbok team to face England in Port Elizabeth is:

Pierre Spies will play in his 50th Test for South Africa when they take on England at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Spies was included in a starting 15 that shows three changes from the one that beat England in the second Test of the Castle Incoming Tour. Willem Alberts (flank) and Pat Lambie (fullback) were not declared fit for the Test.

Jacques Potgieter will make his Springbok debut at flank in the place of Alberts, Gio Aplon has been selected at fullback for Lambie and Wynand Olivier comes in at inside centre for Frans Steyn, who is getting married.

There are two changes on the bench. Flyhalf Elton Jantjies has been selected in a Test squad for the first time and will earn his Bok debut if he gets game time, while Ryan Kankowski takes over from Keegan Daniel.

“Injuries have forced us to make a number of changes, which is never ideal, but this provides an opportunity for players like Gio, Wynand and Jacques to put up their hands,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

“Gio is our third fullback of the series, but he’s experienced and has been part of our planning. Wynand came on as a replacement in both of the first two Tests and knows our game plan, while Jacques has impressed this year as a very strong ball carrier – hopefully he can continue with the good work Willem has done in the last fortnight.”

Meyer explained the changes on the bench as follows: “Jacques has not played for a while and we felt Ryan is the right option for this game if he needs to take over from Jacques, with his explosive running. Keegan did very well in the first two Tests, but for this match we felt that Ryan is a better option.

“Elton comes in to provide cover at flyhalf and is a very good goal kicking option, something we will miss with Frans not available.

“Bjorn Basson still covers all three positions in the back trio, JP Pietersen or Bryan Habana can play outside centre and Jean will move to inside centre if needed, so we are covered in all positions in the backline.”

The starting 15 boast a combined total of 464 Test caps – 299 for the backs and 165 for the forwards.

The Springbok team to face England in Port Elizabeth is:

Position	Name	Province	Test Caps
15	Gio Aplon	DHL Western Province	16
14	JP Pietersen	The Sharks	44
13	Jean de Villiers (captain)	DHL Western Province	74
12	Wynand Olivier	Vodacom Blue Bulls	36
11	Bryan Habana	DHL Western Province	76
10	Morné Steyn	Vodacom Blue Bulls	36
9	Francois Hougaard	Vodacom Blue Bulls	17
8	Pierre Spies	Vodacom Blue Bulls	49
7	Jacques Potgieter	Vodacom Blue Bulls	0
6	Marcell Coetzee	The Sharks	2
5	Juandré Kruger	Vodacom Blue Bulls	2
4	Eben Etzebeth	DHL Western Province	2
3	Jannie du Plessis	The Sharks	32
2	Bismarck du Plessis (vice-captain)	The Sharks	44
1	Tendai Mtawarira	The Sharks	34
Bench
16	Adriaan Strauss	Toyota FS Cheetahs	11
17	Werner Kruger	Vodacom Blue Bulls	3
18	Flip van der Merwe	Vodacom Blue Bulls	13
19	Ryan Kankowski	The Sharks	19
20	Ruan Pienaar	Ulster, Ireland	53
21	Elton Jantjies	MTN Golden Lions	0
22	Bjorn Basson	Vodacom Blue Bulls	6

Record watch

· The Springboks have won the last nine consecutive Tests against England. This is a new record for South Africa against England. New Zealand is the only other country that had nine consecutive wins against England.

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