Louw helped guide his country to a 35-17 victory over Australia last weekend and will now look to make his impact off the bench in Wellington.

Eben Etzebeth (lock), last weekend’s Bok captain, and Pieter-Steph du Toit (back row) are the only two forwards who were retained from the win over the Wallabies, with Makazole Mapimpi (wing) the only back line player in the starting line-up who also featured from the start against the Wallabies.

The rest of the Springbok starting line-up consists mainly of the group of players who travelled to New Zealand last Thursday, a few days before the rest of the South African tour party.

Willie le Roux returns at full-back while Cheslin Kolbe is drafted in on the right wing. Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am form a familiar looking midfield pairing with Handré Pollard (fly-half) and Faf de Klerk (scrum-half) forming the half-back pairing.

Vermeulen, Du Toit and Kwagga Smith (flanker) make up the loose trio, with the former Blitzbok speedster set to earn his second start in the Green and Gold following his international debut last year against Wales in Washington.

Franco Mostert partners Etzebeth in the second row and Malcolm Marx (hooker) is joined in the front row by Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe.

The forward bench consists of Bongi Mbonambi, Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, RG Snyman and Louw, while Herschel Jantjies, Frans Steyn and Jesse Kriel are the replacement backs.

Saturday’s much-anticipated Test is a rematch of last year’s epic clash between the two countries, which the Springboks won 36-34 in the Cake Tin.

The Springbok team to face New Zealand in Wellington

15. Willie le Roux (Wasps, England), 53 caps - 60 points (12 tries)

14. Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse, France), 7 - 10 (2t)

13. Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks), 6 - 5 (1t)

12. Damian de Allende (DHL Stormers), 37 - 20 (4t)

11. Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks), 5 - 20 (4t)

10. Handré Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), 39 - 339 (4t, 59c, 64p, 3d)

9. Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks, England), 21 - 15 (3t)

8. Duane Vermeulen (Vodacom Bulls, captain), 46 - 15 (3t)

7. Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Stormers), 47 - 20 (4t)

6. Kwagga Smith (Emirates Lions), 1 - 0

5. Franco Mostert (Gloucester, England), 29 - 5 (1t)

4. Eben Etzebeth (DHL Stormers), 76 - 15 (3t)

3. Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), 29 - 0

2. Malcolm Marx (Emirates Lions), 24 - 20 (4t)

1. Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers), 37 - 5 (1t)

Replacements:

16. Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers), 27 - 15 (3t)

17. Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks), 108 - 10 (2t)

18. Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), 38 - 5 (1t)

19. RG Snyman (Vodacom Bulls), 12 - 0

20. Francois Louw (Bath, England), 66 - 45 (9t)

21. Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers), 1 - 10 (2t)

22. Frans Steyn (Montpellier, France), 57 - 132 (10t, 5c, 21p, 3d)

23. Jesse Kriel (Vodacom Bulls), 41 - 60 (12t)

Louw in the South Africa squad to face the All Blacks

Related News