Thursday 22 June 2017 14:21, UK
Prop Ruan Dreyer will win his first cap for South Africa Saturday in a starting line-up showing four changes for the third and final Test against France in Johannesburg.
The Lions tighthead replaces Frans Malherbe, who drops out of the matchday 23 after helping the Springboks build a series-clinching 2-0 lead by winning 37-15 in Durban last Saturday.
Jesse Kriel, who suffered concussion during the first Test in Pretoria and missed the second, returns at outside centre in place of Lionel Mapoe.
The other two changes are injury enforced with Francois Hougaard coming in at scrum-half for Ross Cronje and flanker Jean-Luc du Preez taking over from Oupa Mohoje.
Cronje and Mohoje suffered concussion, an injury which triggers an automatic one-week exclusion from playing.
Scrum-half Rudy Paige and loose forward Jaco Kriel are included on the bench for the first time in the series, replacing Hougaard and Du Preez.
The promotion of Dreyer will be warmly welcomed by the public and media with many considering him unlucky not to get the nod over Malherbe from the start of the series.
He will partner a fellow Lion, hooker Malcolm Marx, and veteran loosehead Tendai "The Beast' Mtawarira in the front row.
"The inclusion of Ruan in the starting team gives us an important opportunity to build capacity in the tighthead position," coach Allister Coetzee told a media briefing.
"This is a very important position and it is good that Ruan will start next to his Lions team-mate Malcolm Marx."
South Africa: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois Hougaard, 1 Tendai Mtawarira, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 3 Ruan Dreyer, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 8 Warren Whiteley (c).
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds
