Duane Vermeulen and Warren Whiteley start for South Africa against England
Watch England vs South Africa live on Sky Sports Action on Saturday from 2pm
By Michael Kelleher
Last Updated: 01/11/18 3:54pm
Duane Vermeulen and Warren Whiteley will both start in the back row for South Africa against England on Saturday, while Ivan van Zyl has been selected at scrum-half.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has made seven changes to the starting XV that faced New Zealand in Pretoria three weeks ago, with a number of players missing due to the match falling outside the international window.
Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Francois Louw and Franco Mostert are among those unavailable.
The reshuffle sees Whiteley selected at No 8, with Vermeulen and captain Siya Kolisi rounding out the back row.
Vermeulen's selection sees Pieter-Steph du Toit return to lock, where he will partner Stormers team mate Eben Etzebeth.
With experienced prop Tendai Mtawarira sidelined due to a neck injury, Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Frans Malherbe continue in the front row.
Embrose Papier was on the bench for South Africa's two most recent games against the All Blacks and Australia but it is Van Zyl who gets the nod to come into the side in place of the influential De Klerk at scrum-half.
Explaining his decision, Erasmus admitted: "It is an obvious question that a lot of people will ask. I just think with the conditions and the tactical way England play, Ivan is maybe a better fit to start.
"Embrose is a more instinctive player, who is great on the hard ground. I think he will definitely have an impact on this game but I thought given these conditions and the tactical way we want to play, Ivan is a better choice."
Damian Willemse makes his first start for the Springboks, coming into the team at full-back instead of Le Roux, while Sbu Nkosi replaces Kolbe on the right wing.
Erasmus said: "We have always had Willie Le Roux available and that is a luxury to have. Luckily Damien has been with us for most of the Test matches. He is very comfortable in the whole set-up.
"Somewhere you have to start a Test match and I don't think it gets much better than Twickenham against England.
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"With the World Cup in mind, this is going to be such a valuable [experience]. He is going to play in front of a full house with lots of pressure and a tough kicking game so we will learn a lot about him. He deserves his chance."
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ivan van Zyl; 1 Steven Kitshoff, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Frans Malherbe; 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit; 6 Siya Kolisi (C), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 8 Warren Whiteley
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Andre Esterhuizen
#Followtherose this autumn with all of England's Tests live on Sky Sports throughout November. The action starts on Saturday, November 3 against South Africa before clashes against New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
