Scott Robertson names his All Blacks side to face South Africa at Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 5pm (NZ time).

Etzebeth fit as South Africa name side to face All Blacks

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has been given the green light to face the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

Etzebeth, who was initially sidelined with knee injury concerns, has now been named on the replacements bench for the Rugby Championship showdown by head coach Rassie Erasmus.

Erasmus’ call means Etzebeth steps in for Marco van Staden, who drops out of the matchday squad, with Etzebeth providing specialist lock cover alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje in the starting lineup.

Should he get game time, the test will mark Etzebeth’s 125th in the green jersey, which will see him move ahead of Bryan Habana as the second-most capped Springbok and take one step closer to Victor Matfield’s South African test record of 127 caps.

“Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco,” said Erasmus.

“There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team.

“We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what’s best for the team, and it’s admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is.”

South Africa: 1. Ox Nche, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 5. Ruan Nortje, 6. Siya Kolisi (c), 7. Ben-Jason Dixon, 8. Jasper Wiese, 9. Cobus Rienach, 10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 12. Damian de Allene, 13. Jesse Kriel, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 15. Aphelele Fassi

Reserves: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Eben Etzebeth, 20. Elrigh Louw, 21. Kwagga Smith, 22. Grant Williams, 23. Handre Pollard