The Springboks face Japan in the opening match of their Rugby World Cup campaign on Saturday in Brighton, and coach Heyneke Meyer has selected a starting 15 that happens to be the most experienced team ever selected to represent South Africa.
The South Africans, who won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and 2007, have never faced Japan in a test match, and will be doing so with an incredibly well-versed squad containing many veterans of the sport.
The starting 15 contains a combined total of 880 test caps, which is more than the previous most experienced side (836 caps), which took on Australia in a World Cup encounter in Wellington, New Zealand in 2011.
Lood de Jager and Jannie du Plessis return from injury to feature in the starting lineup, while Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira will also start.
The substitute’s bench will see injury returnees Coenie Oosthuizen, Fourie du Preez and JP Pietersen alongside Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane and Siya Kolisi.
Jean de Villiers’ recovery from a horrific knee injury has come full circle as he is set to captain the Springboks against the Japanese, while fellow highly-experienced veterans Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and Schalk Burger will be present from the start for the South Africans.
Starting 15: Zane Kirchner, Lwazi Mvovo, Jesse Kriel, Jean de Villiers (c), Bryan Habana, Pat Lambie, Ruan Pienaar, Schalk Burger, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw,Victor Matfield, Lood de Jager, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Fourie du Preez, Handré Pollard, JP Pietersen.
