Team announcement: Nienaber names strong-looking side to face England

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber kept changes to a minimum as he picked a familiar and formidable-looking side to do battle against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

While there are eight changes and two positional switches in the matchday 23 following the departure of several players to their European clubs, very few names on the teamsheet will be unfamiliar to Springbok fans.

In the absence of Cheslin Kolbe and Andre Esterhuizen in the backline, Nienaber has brought back the reliable duo of Makazole Mapimpi and Jesse Kriel to take their place.

Meanwhile, up front, Eben Etzebeth makes a welcome return to the starting line-up, while the departing Jasper Wiese' place at No 8 has been taken by exciting newcomer Evan Roos.

The other changes to the starting XV are positional, and see Damian de Allende move from outside centre to inside centre where he partners up with Kriel, and Kurt-Lee Arendse move to the right wing after playing on the left in Genoa to make room for Mapimpi on the other side.

The bench is where Nienaber has had to get more creative. There are four changes in all, reverting to the more traditional split of five forwards and three backs, with SA 'A' captain Thomas du Toit, Marco van Staden, Jaden Hendrikse and Canan Moodie all being drafted in.

"With this Test falling outside the international Test window, we knew we would have to make changes to the team, but we are pleased with the depth we have built in the wider squad in the last few months, and it is paying off for us this week," said Nienaber.

"Every player in this squad has played Test rugby, and most of them have received game time at this level thanks our selection plan throughout the season and the SA 'A' games against Munster and Bristol.

"We are very excited to see what this group of players will do against a quality England side given the mix of talented young players who have been putting up their hands and the experienced guys who have come a long way with us over the last few years."

Nienaber added: "As with all competitions we can only select a limited number of players, so we have had to be creative with balancing building player combinations and giving the young players a chance to show us what they can do at top Test level and this game gives us a golden opportunity to do so.

"It doesn't get bigger than playing against England at a packed Twickenham in the last Test of the season for a player, and one can sense the excitement among the players about this occasion."

Nienaber expected a massive onslaught from England, who snatched a 25-25 draw against New Zealand last week after being edged by Argentina and then registering a convincing victory against Japan.

"England will enter this match with the same mindset as us ? to finish the season on a high note after a tough November campaign, and to build momentum with an eye on the World Cup," he added.

"So, we are expecting them to throw everything they have at us. They are a well-balanced team with a strong pack of forwards and exciting backs, and they are well coached, so we know it is going to be an epic encounter.

"We lost against them by one point in our last two matches at Twickenham and the last time we beat them in London was in 2014, so we have to be accurate in all areas of our game, effective in our execution and we need to covert our chances into points.

"This is the last time the squad will be together in competition until next June, so the players really want to make the most of this opportunity and to make the country proud.

"We had two narrow defeats against the top two teams in the world in Ireland and France and we defeated Italy, and it would be fantastic if we could finish the tour on a high note."

Springbok - 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Canan Moodie.

Date: Saturday, November 26Venue: Twickenham Stadium, LondonKick-off: 17:30 local (19:30 SA time)Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Pierre Brousset (France)TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)