Only two changes to the Bok side that dismantled the All Blacks at Twickenham will suffice to beat Scotland in the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Sunday, according to SARugbymag.co.za readers.
With the World Cup only days away, here is the reader-backed team selected to get the Boks’ title defence under way against Scotland in Marseille.
Readers had no doubt over who should anchor the Bok scrum, promptly voting Steven Kitshoff (19%), Malcolm Marx (19%), and Frans Malherbe (19%) as their choice front three.
Eben Etzebeth comfortably retains his place among the locks with 19% of the vote, accompanied by Franco Mostert (8.63%), who edged RG Snyman (8.14%) by less than half a percent.
Any potential back-row debate has been squashed ahead of the Boks’ first game, as readers voted in the tried-and-tested trio of Siya Kolisi (32%), Pieter-Steph du Toit (32%) and Duane Vermeulen (29%) that won the tournament in 2019.
READ: Veteran Boks get last World Cup shot
With very limited options at flyhalf, Manie Libbok (46%) was overwhelmingly picked as the starting 10 after a solid outing against the All Blacks at Twickenham.
With a remarkable four scrumhalves included in the Bok squad, Faf de Klerk staked his claim as the first-choice No 9 with a resounding 34% of the vote, besting his closest competitor, Jaden Hendrikse (7%).
A selection headache emerged around the centres, but readers voted the experimental pairing of Andre Esterhuizen (37%) and Canan Moodie (24%) to man the midfield against Scotland. Jesse Kriel (23%), following his brace against Wales, narrowly missed out on a spot.
All changes made from the team that thumped the All Blacks occur among the back three. Cheslin Kolbe (31%) retained his spot with ease as Kurt-lee Arendse (19%) takes up the opposite wing, replacing Makazole Mapimpi (5%).
Willie le Roux (22%) returns to the fullback berth despite Damian Willemse’s (10%) man of the match performance against New Zealand.