The seasoned Springbok fly half, Handré Pollard, will provide cover at inside centre for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies in Perth.

The Springboks have made ten changes to the team that beat Australia 33-7 last week and one is at inside centre, with Lukhanyo Am, replacing Damian de Allende in the starting XV. The former will receive backup from Pollard according to the coach, Rassie Erasmus.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu retains the number ten jersey as he continues to build on his experience and show impressive form. He will be covered by the Rugby World Cup winner, Manie Libbok, who was the starting fly half against Portugal in Bloemfontein.

Manie Libbok. Photo: Morgan Piek

Libbok has also been named on the bench and he will provide cover for the impressive youngster, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Erasmus said the bench will provide plenty of cover for the backline, while it’s also important for De Allende to be rested due to the physical nature of his game. “The first thing is we want to win the test match, and Damian has been playing a lot of minutes and we’ve got to manage the players and keep them fresh.”

“Lukhanyo played 12 earlier in his career and he only made the move to outside centre when he joined the Sharks. He’s played a wing for us as well, but he certainly did really well when we were down to 13 or 14 men at one stage against Portugal, then he played on the inside for us.

“This is to change the team up and not lose momentum in the system – Jesse Kriel was excellent on defence and attack, while Lukhanyo was good against Portugal.

“Damian probably needs a little bit of a rest because of the really physical way he plays, and we can’t expect him to play 14 test matches in a row. André Esterhuizen is not available.

“Handré will probably if things go according to plan he will slot in a 12 somewhere in the test. We have both Mannie and Handré on the bench. We also see Handré as a possible 12. But then, André Esterhuizen can play again this weekend (for the Sharks against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein).

“Hopefully, those players will be available for us in the test against New Zealand. Lukhanyo looks very comfortable at 12 and we just have another option available with Handré.”

Saturday’s test between the Wallabies and Springboks in Perth kicks off at 11:45.

Wallabies – TBA

Springboks – 15 Aphelele Fassie, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels

Replacements – 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Kock, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Handré Pollard

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh