{"id":287803,"date":"2023-09-07T00:34:52","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T00:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=287803"},"modified":"2023-09-07T00:34:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T00:34:52","slug":"south-africa-name-their-team-two-days-early-for-their-world-cup-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/south-africa-name-their-team-two-days-early-for-their-world-cup-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa name their team two days early for their World Cup opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>South Africa name their team two days early for Rugby World Cup opener against Scotland in Marseille, with\u00a0 Siya Kolisi leading fully-loaded side for reigning champions<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has already named his starting team<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Springboks take on Scotland in their first game of Pool B at the World Cup<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>European powerhouse Ireland are also in the group, as are Romania and Tonga\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>South Africa are in confident mood ahead of their World Cup showdown with Scotland \u2014 after taking the bold step to name their team two days early.<\/p>\n<p>The reigning world champions had initially planned to announce their line-up on Friday, two days out from the game and in line with Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>But bullish Boks head coach Jacques Nienaber has gone early \u2014 and has picked a fully-loaded team for what is shaping up to be a mouthwatering clash in Marseille.<\/p>\n<p>Star scrum-half Faf de Klerk will win his 50th Test cap, with the talismanic Siya Kolisi captaining the side from the back row.<\/p>\n<p>From a Scottish perspective, this looks like an early flex of South Africa\u2019s muscle for them to bring their team announcement forward to such an early point in the week.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146401-0-image-a-45_1694042759200.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has named his sides starting lineup two days early<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146507-0-image-a-49_1694043069119.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>South Africa scrum-half Faf de Klerk will be making his 50th Test appearance against Scotland<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146451-0-image-a-46_1694042807398.jpg\" height=\"361\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Springboks are without winger\/fullback Canan Moodie who is out with a hamstring injury<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve been working hard in the last few weeks to make sure we are as prepared as possible going into this match and we are fully aware of the challenge that awaits us,\u2019 said Nienaber.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Scotland are a quality team with a strong pack and skilful backs. They play with a lot of intensity, so we need to be sharp on attack and defence on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They have proved in the last few seasons that they can beat any team and, with this being the opening game of the World Cup for both sides, they will be equally as charged-up as us for the match.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Despite going with a remarkable seven-one split on the bench in their record win over the All Blacks a fortnight ago, Nienaber has reverted back to the more traditional South African tactic of a six-two split.<\/p>\n<p>The so-called \u2018bomb squad\u2019 of six forwards on the bench is made up of Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden and Duane Vermeulen.<\/p>\n<p>Canan Moodie, who has injected some real pace and dynamism into the Boks\u2019 attack in recent months, misses out due to a slight hamstring problem.<\/p>\n<p>But, nonetheless, it\u2019s still a backline which oozes power and quality, with Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende in the centres, and the impressive Manie Libbok orchestrating things at fly-half.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146447-0-image-a-47_1694042877136.jpg\" height=\"496\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scotland will be hoping for some magic from star fly-half Finn Russell, who plays for Bath<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146449-0-image-a-48_1694043019466.jpg\" height=\"433\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>South Africa are the reigning Rugby World Cup champions, beating England in the final in 2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are pleased with the squad depth we have built in the last few months, and we believe this group of players strikes the right balance to achieve the result we need against Scotland,\u2019 said Nienaber.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are very excited about this occasion. We\u2019ve been building for this World Cup for the last four years and we are thrilled to get our campaign started.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve been working hard in the last few weeks to make sure we are as prepared as possible going into this match and we are fully aware of the challenge that awaits us.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Nienaber commended De Klerk for reaching a career milestone, saying: \u2018Earning 50 Test caps is a massive achievement and to mark that feat in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup makes it very special.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Faf has been a key member of our team for a few years, so we are delighted for him. Needless to say, we\u2019re all focused on making sure it\u2019s a memorable occasion for him and the rest of us.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel has revealed that Darcy Graham, who hasn\u2019t played a competitive fixture for five weeks, is fully fit.<\/p>\n<p>The first-choice winger had been a major doubt after only resuming training last Tuesday following a quad injury, which forced him to miss the final World Cup warm-up match against Georgia at Murrayfield.<\/p>\n<p>Dalziel, speaking after watching Graham train for the second day in a row in Nice, said: \u2018Wednesday was his second day training and if selected, he is ready to go.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146611-0-image-a-52_1694043267968.jpg\" height=\"381\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>South Africa recently dominated southern hemisphere rivals New Zealand at Twickenham<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Wednesday tends to be our more physical training day as the end of the week tends to be more the speed element and the contact.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Dalziel is confident the Scotland forward pack won\u2019t be overpowered despite the Springboks being renowned for their raw strength.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They like the power game as it\u2019s worked very well for them over the years and they are a team who make a lot of forward replacements early sometimes,\u2019 he said. \u2018Their \u201cbomb squad\u201d that comes off the bench doesn\u2019t always come on at the end of the game. Strategically, tactically, it\u2019s something they do but we are ready.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have a strong forward starting pack and, in the last three performances for us, our bench have had a huge impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We chose to go 6\/2 in the French game and it worked really well for us in terms of the squad. When they come on and perform at that level, with that energy, it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Whichever way South Africa go with their bench, we know we\u2019re going to get great impact from ours. It\u2019s going to be tough enough picking that starting XV after the prep we\u2019ve had and we\u2019re really splitting hairs on a few positions.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018South Africa sometimes get tagged as just bully-boys with a big pack, but they are very inventive in what they do.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They\u2019ve always been a team I\u2019ve admired, certainly from a set-piece point of view and how they can dominate in that area of the game, so it is exciting as a coach to go up against that with the team we have.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/07\/00\/75146605-0-image-m-51_1694043125812.jpg\" height=\"413\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Springbok&#8217;s flanker and captain Siya Kolisi will hope to win back to back Rugby World Cups\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12489685\/Confident-holders-South-Africa-team-two-days-early-Rugby-World-Cup-opener-against-Scotland-Marseille.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>South Africa name their team two days early for Rugby World Cup opener against Scotland in Marseille, with\u00a0 Siya Kolisi leading fully-loaded side for reigning <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/south-africa-name-their-team-two-days-early-for-their-world-cup-opener\/\" title=\"South Africa name their team two days early for their World Cup opener\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-union"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - 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