Africa-Press – South-Africa. Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick is excited about having World Cup-winning star Cheslin Kolbe back ahead of Saturday’s Test against Ireland in Dublin.
Kolbe returns to the Springboks after being sidelined for months with a broken jaw.
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Kolbe starts at fullback as the Springboks kick off their European tour on Saturday at Aviva Stadium, where they face the top-ranked team in the world, Ireland.
Stick admits that the Springboks are looking forward to see Kolbe return in the green and gold.
“It’s good to have Cheslin back – he’s a world-class player, he is skilful, he has a big heart, and we know what he can do,” said Stick.
“The plan was always to prepare him as back-up for Willie (le Roux), and if you look at the experience between him and Makazole Mapimpi and what Kurt-Lee (Arendse) brings, we have a good balance in the back three, and we’re excited to see what they can do.”
It’s the first time the two sides have met since 11 November 2017, when Ireland crushed the Springboks 38-3.
When quizzed about the threat the hosts’ halfback pairing of scrumhalf Conor Murray – who will earn play his 100th Test for the Irish this weekend – and Johnny Sexton would pose.
“Their halfbacks control their game well, and they draw a lot from Johnny’s presence,” said Stick.
“But that said our priority will be to execute our game plan well because they will probably want to keep the ball as much as possible, meaning we it will be important for us to impose our game plan in the match.”
Kick-off is at 19:30 SA time.
Teams:
Ireland
15 Hugo Keenan; 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Mack Hansen; 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Conor Murray; 8 Caelan Doris; 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony; 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne; 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Substitutes: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Stuart McCloskey.
Springboks
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux
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