Fiery lock Eben Etzebeth to captain formidable Springboks against All Blacks

Rugby Championship: All Blacks v Springboks. Venue: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. Kickoff: Saturday, 7.05pm. Live coverage: Stuff and Sky Sport

Fiery Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth will captain a formidable South African side against the All Blacks in his return from a shoulder injury on Saturday night.

The towering second-rower’s inclusion is one of a raft of expected changes for the top-of-the-table clash at Mt Smart Stadium, with Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber injecting 10 rested players into his match-day 23.

Nienaber has named 10 of the 14 players who travelled to New Zealand a week ago to acclimatise, nine of whom have been injected into the starting XV.

In addition to Etzebeth and fellow lock Lood de Jager, loose forwards Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert and Jasper Wiese will start, as will electric outside backs Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe.

In what’s been a tried and true tactic for an age, menacing rake Malcolm Marx will provide cover off the bench.

“We planned to select a squad with a few key combinations of players who are fully acclimatised and settled in in New Zealand, while also selecting some players who started last week, and we are pleased with the balance we were able to strike with this squad,” Nienaber said.

“This allows us to give some players their first taste of international rugby this season, alongside a group of players who come off a physical clash against the Wallabies, and we believe this will be beneficial against a top opponent in the All Blacks.

With regular captain Siya Kolisi still sidelined with a knee injury, Etzebeth’s return from a shoulder injury, suffered while playing for the Sharks against Munster in April, is a significant boost for the Boks, who thrashed Australia in Pretoria last weekend.

While the All Blacks won’t name their team until Thursday, the hosts are expected to name Brodie Retallick in the second row, although fellow veteran Sam Whitelock’s availability is less certain.

Regardless, the battle of the second rows will be essential viewing, with Retallick and Etzebeth among the best.

“Eben has been working very hard in the last few months to make a full recovery from his shoulder injury and it’s great to see him return to the field in this important fixture. He’s a vastly experienced player with 110 test caps, he’s captained the Springboks before, and he has been with the group of players in New Zealand for over a week, so he is the ideal person to lead the team this weekend,” Nienaber said.

“New Zealand have a strong pack of forwards and dangerous backs, and they showed last week what they can do when they have the space to convert their chances into points.”

The All Blacks on Tuesday confirmed fullback Will Jordan and wing Mark Telea were available for selection, but tighthead prop Fletcher Newell broke his hand during training last week and would be sidelined for at least three weeks.

South Africa: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Damian Willemse, Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth (capt), Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Reserves: Malcolm Marx, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Pieter Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok.