Gelant, de Klerk back in for the Boks

Winger Warrick Gelant and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk have been roped into the Springboks' starting line-up for the only two changes made by coach Jacques Nienaber to face Australia.

The Boks are set to meet the Wallabies in Adelaide this weekend as they continue their Rugby Championship campaign on the back of the victory and defeat in their two opening fixtures against New Zealand earlier this month.

Nienaber has stuck with the core of the team that lost to the All Blacks at Emirates Airline Park last weekend, with only Gelant and de Klerk coming in on the right wing and at number-9 respectively.

Missing out is Jesse Kriel and Jaden Hendrikse, with the latter dropping to the bench, which also sees Elton Jantjies come in for fly-half cover and Frans Steyn returns for additional backline cover.

œThis is a very important clash for us to set the tone for our Castle Lager Rugby Championship tour and we feel that continuity in selection is important to build momentum in our campaign, said Nienaber.

œWarrick was in good form for the DHL Stormers earlier this season and he has been working hard at training, so we thought it would be good to give him a run on the wing. He also combined well with Damian Willemse in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, so we are excited to see what they offer us in the match.

œFaf, meanwhile, is back from a concussion and his experience will be important in this game.

œWe also feel it is important to give the likes of Ox [Nche], Joseph [Dweba] and Duane [Vermeulen] another opportunity to further build combinations and give them valuable game time as we build toward the Rugby World Cup next year.

Springbok team to face Australia in Adelaide:

15 - Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) - 20 caps, 12 pts (1t, 2c, 1p)

14 - Warrick Gelant (Racing 92) - 10 caps, 15 pts (3t)

13 - Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) - 30 caps, 30 pts (6t)

12 - Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) - 62 caps, 35 pts (7t)

11 - Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) - 29 caps, 105 pts (21t)

10 - Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers) - 64 caps, 662 pts (7t, 90c, 144p, 5d)

9 - Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles) - 39 caps, 25 pts (5t)

8 - Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) - 62 caps, 15 pts (3t)

7 - Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) - 62 caps, 25 pts (5t)

6 - Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) - 67 caps, 35 pts (7t)

5 - Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) - 60 caps, 25 pts (5t)

4 - Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) - 102 caps, 15 pts (3t)

3 - Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) - 50 caps, 5 pts (1t)

2 - Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers) - 3 caps, 0pts

1 - Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) - 11 caps, 0pts

Replacements:

16 - Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) - 51 caps, 55 pts (11t)

17 - Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) - 63 caps, 5 pts (1t)

18 - Vincent Koch (Wasps) 36 caps, 0 pts

19 - Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) - 55 caps, 5pts (1t)

20 - Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) - 23 caps, 5 pts (1t)

21 - Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) - 6 caps, 5 pts (1t)

22 - Elton Jantjies (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes) - 45 caps, 329 pts (2t, 65c, 62p, 1d)

23 - Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) - 74 caps, 150 pts (11t, 7c, 24p, 3d)

By Web Admin