Blow for Springboks as Nche withdraws from team to face Argentina
South Africa will be without injured prop Ox Nche for their crunch Rugby Championship test against Argentina in Durban on Saturday, with Boan Venter moving from the bench to start in the front row and Marco van Staden named among the replacements.
South Africa did not specify the nature of Nche’s injury but it will see Van Staden, usually a loose-forward, named as the replacement hooker, a role he has filled on occasion in the past.
"Nche’s withdrawal necessitated the move of Venter ... to the starting front row alongside Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit, while Jan-Hendrik Wessels will serve as the back-up prop, with Van Staden providing hooker cover off the bench," South African Rugby said in a statement on Friday.
With two rounds remaining in the Rugby Championship, Australia top the table with 11 points, followed by defending champions South Africa and New Zealand on 10, while Argentina have nine.
Updated South Africa team:
15-Damian Willemse, 14-Cheslin Kolbe, 13-Canan Moodie, 12-Damian de Allende, 11-Ethan Hooker, 10-Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9-Cobus Reinach, 8-Jasper Wiese, 7-Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6-Siya Kolisi (captain), 5-Ruan Nortje, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Thomas du Toit, 2-Malcolm Marx, 1-Boan Venter
Replacements: 16-Marco van Staden, 17-Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18-Wilco Louw, 19-RG Snyman, 20-Kwagga Smith, 21-Morne van den Berg, 22-Manie Libbok, 23-Andre Esterhuizen.
