Ruan Dreyer will make his Test debut for the Springboks against France at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Dreyer replaces Frans Malherbe, who drops out of the match 23, with Coenie Oosthuizen covering tighthead prop from the bench.
In the only other change to the pack, Jean-Luc du Preez comes in for Oupa Mohoje (concussion) at openside flank and will make his first Test start in four appearances.
Among the backs, Jesse Kriel has recovered from a concussion to reclaim the No 13 jersey from Lionel Mapoe, who will play for South Africa A on Friday night. With Ross Cronjé having been ruled out with a concussion, Francois Hougaard will start his first Test at scrumhalf since November 2014.
There are two changes to the bench, with Rudy Paige (scrumhalf) and Jaco Kriel (flank) coming into the match 23.
‘I said earlier in the week that we would keep changes in the starting team to a minimum because we have huge respect for this powerful French side,’ said Bok coach Allister Coetzee.
‘The inclusion of Ruan in the starting team gives us an important opportunity to build capacity in the tighthead position. This is a very important position and it is great to have players such as Coenie Oosthuizen and Steven Kitshoff coming off the bench as a combination, while Ruan will start next to his Lions hooker in Malcolm Marx.
‘The same applies for Jaco Kriel, who has fully recovered from his knee injury and he was very good in training the past three weeks. He deserves his chance in the match 23 and he is very eager to play. Jaco was in brilliant form before he got injured and I am sure he will make a huge impact off the bench.
‘Jesse had an outstanding game in the first match in Pretoria and he really combined well with Jan Serfontein in the midfield before he was forced to leave the field. The retention of combinations is important because that will add to our continuity.
‘The selection of the centre pairing was really a tough task and Lionel Mapoe is perhaps unlucky to lose out on the match 23. He played well in Durban but Jesse was also very good next to Jan Serfontein in Pretoria, and my decision is based on developing combinations. Lionel will, however, get the opportunity to play for the SA A side against the French Barbarians on Friday in Soweto.’
Coetzee said he expected a huge onslaught from the French.
‘Their camp is clear about it and the players realise there is no place for complacency. This is their last match of the season and they will be highly motivated to finish on a high, so they will yet again pose a serious threat. We will have to work extremely hard against a very physical French side who will again test us in all departments.’
Springboks – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds.
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
