Jasper Wiese returns as Springboks name side to face All Blacks at Ellis Park

Erasmus has made nine changes to the team that defeated the Wallabies 30-12 in Perth - but only three from the first-choice team that opened the Rugby Championship with a 33-7 win in Brisbane.

 Wiese has been recalled from suspension, while Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje have been paired in the second row following a string of injuries to eligible Bok locks.

Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman and Salmaan Moerat are all unavailable for this weekend's clash, joining the likes of Franco Mostert, Lood de Jager and Jean Kleyn who were previously ruled out.

The only other change not enforced by the mini-lock crisis sees Aphelele Fassi get the fullback's jersey in place of veteran Willie le Roux. 

"It's not ideal that we have so many injuries at lock, but we are pleased with the way Ruan stood his man in our last match and we are confident that he'll combine well with Pieter-Steph at lock," said Erasmus.

"This will serve as a fantastic opportunity for him to prove what he can do against one of the best teams in the world.

"It's also good to have a player of Jasper's calibre back and we know that he'll bring a lot of energy on attack and defence after biding his time to return to the field, and we are looking forward to seeing his physicality combined with the rest of the back row.

"We also have a settled backline, and Aphelele made a strong statement against the Wallabies in Perth, so we are excited to see what they have to offer against a heavily attack-orientated All Black backline.

"We've seen what most of these players can do under pressure in Australia, and we're confident that they'll want to build on that against the All Blacks."

The pack shows six changes to the starting line-up that appeared in Perth with a new front row of Ox Nche (promoted from the bench in Perth) and the recall of the rested Frans Malherbe and hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

Pieter-Steph du Toit moves from the side of the scrum to partner Nortje while Wiese is joined in the back row by Bok captain Siya Kolisi and Ben-Jason Dixon, who has recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the Perth Test.

In the backline, Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu reunite at halfback, while Erasmus recalled Damian de Allende to partner Jesse Kriel at centre, with Kurt-Lee Arendse also back in the team, linking up with Cheslin Kolbe and Fassi in the back three.

Erasmus' bench, which features a split of six forwards and two backs, will see Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch in the replacement front row, while Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden and the energetic Kwagga Smith will offer the team solid loose forward cover options.

The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Handre Pollard, who offer an array of options, covering scrumhalf, wing, centre and flyhalf between them.

Wiese was deemed match-ready, having been training with the team since the beginning of June at the first training camp in Pretoria, while Erasmus opted to give Steven Kitshoff, Canan Moodie, Jaden Hendrikse and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg more time to adjust to the new structures following their injury returns.

The Bok coach was confident that the lock injury situation would ease in the next week and said: "Eben may have been ready to play this week if we really needed him, but we feel we will benefit more from selecting a player that is 100% fit, and Salmaan should also be back in selection frame next week after following the return to play protocols.

"We're happy that things will ease significantly for us in that department going into the second Test."

Erasmus said he expected an immensely physical approach from the All Blacks who showed in their last outing against Argentina that they are starting to find some form.

"We've no doubt they'll come out guns blazing," he said. "They'll want to build winning momentum after bouncing back against Argentina following their disappointing opening game, and the rivalry between the Boks and All Blacks will motivate them even more.

"There is also no doubt they'll still be hurting from the Rugby World Cup final, and in addition to that they know how important a win will be to square things up and open up the Castle Lager Rugby Championship log.

"They're a quality team with several players who have an X-factor and they constantly pose a threat to our defence, so we have to start well and be on the top of our game in all departments to try to build on what we have done in the competition so far.

"We're under no illusions that this will be a completely different challenge to that which Australia posed, and that the next two Tests will require a proper step-up from us, but we are excited to see if we can take our game to the next level and give ourselves the best possible chance to stake a claim for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.

"We'll give our best and hopefully that will place us on the correct side of the scoreboard."

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

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard.

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