By: Natasha Archary

Bongi Mbonambi will start in the Springboks’ final clash against the All Blacks on Saturday, 28 October.
This after World Rugby found insufficient evidence against the South African specialist hooker for an alleged racial slur that England player, Tom Curry accused him of.
The team that starts against New Zealand include:
- Steven Kitshoff
- Bongi Mbonambi
- Frans Malherbe
- Eben Eztebeth
- Franco Mostert
- Siya Kolisi
- Pieter-Steph Du Toit
- Duane Vermeulen
- Faf de Klerk
- Handre Pollard
- Cheslin Kolbe
- Damian de Allende
- Jesse Kriel
- Kurt-Lee Arendse
- Damian Willemse
Bok coach Jacques Nienaber explained his decision for his team selection in his team’s Rugby World Cup final clash against the All Blacks.
“A lot of factors gets taken into account, and this includes experience, being there before, but in saying that you can’t take anything away from a guy like Manie.
I think in the 12 Test Matches we played this year, we lost 2 and Manie only started in one of them.
So, every game that Manie has played for us, or started for us at 10, he actually produced or led a team from a 10’s perspective to a victory.
The same with Cobus, you know Cobus was outstanding in the quarter-final against France, and he was outstanding in the semi-final, which is both games that we won.
So, again I’m saying there’s a lot of things that get taken into account, and it’s a debate between coaches.”
Nienaber says the team selection came after a lengthy discussion, considering all the stats, player’s medicals and a number of other factors.
All in all, the Springboks coach says he’s confident that the team that was selected, based on the All Blacks’ style of play is the right team to get South Africa the result we want, which is a win against the second best team in the world.



