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    Grocott's Mail
    You are at:Home»Uncategorized»South Africa vs. Ireland – 3rd test preview: PE battle could be an historic encounter
    Uncategorized

    South Africa vs. Ireland – 3rd test preview: PE battle could be an historic encounter

    Grocott's MailBy Grocott's MailJune 24, 20161 Comment4 Mins Read
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    Allister Coetzee's Springboks will fight to avoid becoming the first South Africa side to lose a home test series against Ireland as the sides prepare to do battle one last time at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

    Allister Coetzee's Springboks will fight to avoid becoming the first South Africa side to lose a home test series against Ireland as the sides prepare to do battle one last time at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

    The match, which kicks off at 5 pm South African time, will see Lions duo Warren Whiteley (no.8) and Ruan Combrinck (wing) handed their first Springbok starts.

    Whiteley and Combrinck have excelled in this year's Super Rugby competition, which currently sees the Lions sitting atop the South African conference.

    However, despite holding the Lions captaincy, Whiteley was named on the bench for the bench for the first two tests – while Combrinck was not even named in the matchday 23 for the first game – a 26-20 defeat at Newlands.

    When Combrinck did get his chance last Saturday at Emirates Airline Park – coming on as a substitute for Lwazi Mvovo – he grabbed it with both hands, scoring a try and claiming the Man of the Match award on debut.

    The impressive display did not go unnoticed by Coetzee, who promoted Combrinck to the starting lineup for this week's clash, dropping Mvovo to the bench. Coetzee brought Whiteley into the side for Duane Vermeulen, who is out with a shoulder injury.

    Apart from these changes, Coetzee has retained the starting XV that beat Ireland 32-26 in Johannesburg. However, the same cannot be said of Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, who has shaken his side up drastically.

    CJ Stander returns to the side at no.6 after serving a one-match suspension for his late tackle on Patrick Lambie at Newlands, while fellow South African-born player Quinn Roux drops out of the matchday 23.

    Iain Henderson moves to no.5 to accomodate Stander, while Jordi Murphy replaces Rhys Ruddock at no.7.

    Full-back Jared Payne and centre Robbie Henshaw have been forced out of the side by injuries, and have been replaced by Tiernan O'Halloran and Luke Marshall respectively.

    Keith Earls comes back into the team, replacing Craig Gilroy at no.11, while prop Mike Ross replaces Tadhg Furlong – who was given a starting birth in Johannesburg after impressing at Newlands.

    Although the series is currently poised at 1-1, Coetzee is likely to feel significantly more pressure than his opposite number. Schmidt has little to lose, having already becoming the first Ireland coach to record an away win against the Springboks in the first test. 

    However, regardless of the result, Coetzee is expected to get a hero's reception when he visits Grahamstown, his town of birth, on Tuesday.

    Teams:

    South Africa: 

    1. Tendai Mtawarira

    2. Adriaan Strauss (C)

    3. Frans Malherbe

    4. Eben Etzebeth

    5. Pieter-Steph du Toit

    6. Francois Louw

    7. Siya Kolisi

    8. Warren Whiteley

    9. Faf de Klerk

    10. Elton Jantjies

    11. Ruan Combrinck

    12. Damian de Allende

    13. Lionel Mapoe

    14. JP Pietersen

    15. Willie Le Roux

    Bench:

    16. Bongi Mbonambi

    17. Steven Kitshoff

    18. Julian Redelinghuys

    19. Franco Mostert

    20. Jaco Kriel

    21. Rudy Paige

    22. Morné Steyn

    23. Lwazi Mvovo

    Ireland:

    1 Jack McGrath

    2 Rory Best (C)

    3 Mike Ross

    4 Iain Henderson

    5 Devin Toner

    6 CJ Stander

    7 Jordi Murphy

    8 Jamie Heaslip

    9 Conor Murray

    10 Paddy Jackson

    11 Keith Earls

    12 Stuart Olding

    13 Luke Marshall

    14 Andrew Trimble

    15 Tiernan O'Halloran

    Bench:

    16 Sean Cronin

    17 Finlay Bealham

    18 Tadhg Furlong

    19 Ultan Dillane

    20 Rhys Ruddock

    21 Eoin Morgan

    22 Ian Madigan

    23 Matt Healy

     

    Like Grocott's Mail Sport on Facebook and follow @GrocottsSport on Twitter to follow both the test match in Port Elizabeth and Coetzee's return to his Grahamstown roots.

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