The only two modifications made by South Africa from the starting lineup in their 16–15 victory against England in the semi-finals are the return of half-backs De Klerk and Pollard.
Pollard kicked 22 points in the 2019 Ruby World Cup final, helping the Springboks win the title of world champions for the third time. De Klerk also played in the match.
South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi will also start against New Zealand after the governing body World Rugby ruled there was “insufficient evidence” he used a racial slur towards Tom Curry.
The big surprise from Springboks management Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber was the bench split, with lock Jean Kleyn and No 8 Jasper Wiese added for an extended ‘Bomb Squad’ of seven reserve forwards.
Four of the five forwards that were on the bench for South Africa were kept for the semi-final, with prop Trevor Nyakane making a forced substitution for the injured Vincent Koch.
The addition of Kleyn and Wiese by the Boks suggests they will rely a lot on their forwards. The only other back in the reserves is Willie le Roux. If South Africa sustains back injuries at Stade de France while attempting to duplicate the All Blacks’ 2011 and 2015 accomplishment of winning back-to-back titles, that might leave them vulnerable.
