Koch to start for Boks

Vincent Koch will start at tighthead prop in a solitary injury-enforced change to the Springbok team to face Argentina in Salta this Saturday.

Julian Redelinghuys wore the No 3 jersey last Saturday, but has been ruled out of action for several weeks after suffering a hamstring injury against the Pumas and, as expected, his place will be taken by Koch.

Koch produced an impressive cameo at scrum time when he came on to replace Redelinghuys in Nelspruit, while Lourens Adriaanse comes on to the bench to provide tighthead prop cover. Should he come off the bench, he would add to the solitary cap he earned for the Boks back in 2013.

Otherwise, Allister Coetzee has stuck with the same side that secured a comeback win over Argentina in their Rugby Championship opener, with Lood de Jager retaining his place at No 5 ahead of Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Johan Goosen earning a second successive start at fullback.

Morné Steyn replaces Juan de Jongh on the bench.

'Vincent did very well when he came on as a replacement for Julian in Nelspruit, and he is rewarded with a starting berth, while we believe it would be good to give Lourens an opportunity on the bench at this stage,' said Bok coach Allister Coetzee. 'We expect them to try and put us under pressure with their tactical kicking. Morné is an experienced player with good kicking attributes, and he will provide an additional kicking cover for us.

'We will continue to build on our cohesion as a team. This is the first away Test for this side and we expect another huge battle against the Pumas.'

Springboks – 15 Johan Goosen, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel.

Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images

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