South Africa vs Japan live: Springboks aim to avoid repeat of World Cup shock at Wembley

Andre Esterhuizen is covering the back row for South Africa today, a super-sized center half to the developing trend of capable players at back or forward – as I discovered:

Japan have made two changes to the team that edged Australia close in Tokyo last weekend, with Eddie Jones hoping to continue to build consistency and confidence in his team. Charlie Lawrence replaces Shogo Nakano at inside center to partner the experienced and excellent Dylan Riley, while Kenji Sato replaces Hayate Era at hooker.

Japan XV: 1 Kenta Kobayashi, 2 Kenji Sato, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi; 4 Jack Cornelson, 5 Warner Derns; 6 Ben Gunter, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 8 Michael Leach (capt); 9 Shinobu Fujiwara, 10 Seung Sin Lee; 11 Tomoki Osada, 12 Charlie Lawrence, 13 Dylan Riley, 14 Kippei Ishida; 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki.

replacement, 16 Shodai Hirao, 17 Ryosuke Iwahara, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Folau Makisi; 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Sam Green, 23 Tiannan Costley.

The Springboks handed a debut to young flamboyant Zachary Porthen, who is considered to have real promise after captaining South Africa at U20 level. Following Damien Willemse’s exclusion, Cheslin Kolbe has been shifted to full-back alongside Ethan Hooker and Kurt-Lee Arendse.

The bench, as always, is of interest – center Andre Esterhuizen has clearly been named as back-row cover, with Quagga Smith also providing versatility among the replacements.

South Africa XV: 1 Ox Nache, 2 Malcolm Marks, 3 Zachary Porthen; 4 RG Snyman, 5 Laud the Year; 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Franco Mostert, 8 Jasper Wise; 9 Kobus Reinach, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mengom Sister’s Sister; 11 Kurt-Lee Ersings, 12 Damien de Elands, 13 Jesse Kriel, 14 Ethan Hooker; 15 Cheslin Kolbe.

Replacement: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenkamp, ​​18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Quagga Smith; 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manny Liboc.

There’s just over an hour to go until kick-off at Wembley – let’s take a closer look at both teams…

It’s a busy afternoon for London rugby fans, with three games to go and there is a shortage of options. With the All Blacks You can follow that game here:

The intensity of international rugby competition begins in November with a busy testing schedule for the Quilter Nations Series competition over the next five weeks.

while a New Nations Championship is coming The 2025 fixtures take on greater importance with the Rugby World Cup draw taking place in early December, adding additional context to these games next year.

The action should be fast and furious as the cross-hemisphere rivalry kicks off again – and it’s not just action from the top nations, with Hong Kong, the United States and Uruguay among the less publicized sides touring Europe.

Many South African players who took the field against Japan at Wembley Stadium have vivid memories of the ‘Miracle of Brighton’, an upset that shocked the Rugby World Cup a decade ago and which still sends shivers through Springbok hearts today.

They include captain Siya Kolisi, who was instrumental in Japan’s last-ditch effort to beat the Springboks 34-32 in the opening match of the 2015 tournament in Brighton.

South Africa would finish third in the tournament, but it is a day that has left an indelible mark on the game in the country.

The Springboks have since won their two encounters with Japan, including knocking their hosts out of the 2019 World Cup in the quarter-finals en route to lifting the trophy.

They will be favorites again and while the wounds of 10 years ago have healed with two World Cup wins, the Springboks are taking nothing for granted.

“We definitely give them the respect they deserve. They are a great team,” Kolisi told reporters on Friday. “You saw what they did against Australia last week (19-15 loss in Tokyo). That game was very close.

“We have a lot of players in Japan, and they are able to tell us about the players who are playing tomorrow and what kind of players they are. We are very prepared for this game.”

Lock Lund de Jager and center Jesse Kriel started against Japan in Brighton, with flanker Kolisi coming off the bench.

The Rugby Championship is due to return in 2027, but Rassie Erasmus has called for major changes to its schedule, advocating for the competition to be moved to earlier in the year in line with the Six Nations – which would help the Springboks better balance their club and country calendars.

Of course, there will be no Rugby Championship next year, with South Africa hosting New Zealand in a new series dubbed “rugby’s greatest rivalries” – an exciting development in many ways, even if Australia and Argentina are slightly sidelined.

The Springboks are back in London for the second time in a month, after taking over Twickenham for their clash with Argentina in October. I saw the Indian diaspora coming forward with great force as one rugby championship after another was secured.