Erasmus pulls out the big guns for Ireland

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Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has rolled out the heavy artillery for Saturday’s first test against Ireland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

The 23-player match-day squad features 20 Rugby World Cup winners.

The entire starting 15 and five players are on the replacements’ bench.

The three players in the match-day squad who weren’t part of the squad at last year’s World Cup in France are prop Gerhard Steenekamp, lock Salmaan Moerat and utility back, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

They are on the bench with a six-two split in favor of the forwards

Twelve of the starting 15 for Saturday’s match against the second-best nation in the world, started in last year’s World Cup final, while the other three, Willie le Roux, Kwagga Smith, and Ox Nche came off the bench.

Here it is, your #Springboks match-23 for the highly-anticipated first Test against Ireland in Pretoria – more here: https://t.co/IowLhMqHO3 🇿🇦#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/bZoFqXvQuU

— Springboks (@Springboks) July 2, 2024