All Blacks v South Africa: Eben Etzebeth cleared to play at Ellis Park, moves on to bench

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has been given the green light to face the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

Etzebeth, who was initially sidelined with kinee injury concerns, has now been named on the replacements bench for the Rugby Championship showdown by head coach Rassie Erasmus.

Erasmus’ call means Etzebeth steps in for Marco van Staden, who drops out of the matchday squad, with Etzebeth providing specialist lock cover alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje in the starting lineup.

Should he get game time, the test will mark Etzebeth’s 125th in the green and gold jersey, which will see him move ahead of Bryan Habana as the second-most capped Springbok of all time and take one step closer to Victor Matfield’s South African test record of 127 caps.

“Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco,” said Erasmus.

“There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team.

“We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what’s best for the team, and it’s admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is.”

Springboks team to face All Blacks in Johannesburg:

15 – Aphelele Fassi – 6 caps

14 – Cheslin Kolbe – 35 caps

13 – Jesse Kriel – 73 caps

12 – Damian de Allende – 82 caps

11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse - 19 caps

10 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 6 caps

9 – Cobus Reinach – 34 caps

8 – Jasper Wiese – 27 caps

7 – Ben-Jason Dixon – 3 caps

6 – Siya Kolisi (captain) – 86 caps

5 – Ruan Nortje – 2 caps

4 – Pieter-Steph du Toit – 81 caps

3 – Frans Malherbe – 73 caps

2 – Bongi Mbonambi – 72 caps

1 – Ox Nche – 33 caps

Replacements:

16 – Malcolm Marx – 69 caps

17 – Gerhard Steenekamp – 4 caps

18 – Vincent Koch – 54 caps

19 – Eben Etzebeth – 124 caps

20 – Elrigh Louw – 6 caps

21 – Kwagga Smith – 45 caps

22 – Grant Williams – 13 caps

23 – Handre Pollard – 73 caps

Listen live: All Blacks v South Africa, live on Newstalk ZB, GOLD SPORT & iHeartRadio, 3am Sunday