Springboks make eight changes to face Samoa

The Springboks have made eight changes to the starting line-up to meet Samoa in their second match of the Rugby World Cup at Villa Park in Birmingham on Saturday.

Adriaan Strauss, who will win his 50th cap, is the starting hooker, while Duane Vermeulen will make his first Test appearance of the year in the No 8 jersey as coach Heyneke Meyer reacted swiftly to the shock of defeat against Japan.

Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen and Damian De Allende return in the backline – with skipper Jean de Villiers shifting to outside centre – while there are new halfbacks in Handré Pollard and Fourie du Preez.

“It’s been a very tough week after the massive disappointment of last weekend and we owe our supporters a winning performance on Saturday,” said Meyer.

“The last few days have been a time for retrospection and the team this week has been selected specifically with Samoa in mind, as we know we’ll have to be at our very best to succeed.

“They will pose a massive challenge and I think it’s fair to say that it’s the biggest game of the season for us. They have a very strong team with players plying their trade all over the world.

The Springbok team to face Samoa in Birmingham is:

1-Tendai Mtawarira, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 5-Victor Matfield, 6-Francois Louw, 7-Schalk Burger, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 9- Fourie du Preez, 10-Handre Pollard, 11-Bryan Habana, 12-Damian de Allende, 13- Jean de Villiers (captain), 14-JP Pietersen, 15-Willie le Roux.