South Africa: Boks Unchanged for World Cup Semi Against England As They Opt for Continuity

19 October 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Craig Ray in Paris

The Springboks opted for continuity for Saturday's Rugby World Cup semi-final against England at the Stade de France.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has opted to retain the same 23-man squad for the Rugby World Cup 2023 semi-final against England.

This is the first time in 2023 that the Boks are unchanged and only the second time in 64 Tests since 2018 that the 23-man is the same in consecutive weeks.

This is the most experienced in Springbok starting XV in history -- with a combined total of 895 caps. Fifteen of the 23 had played against England in the 32-12 victory in the RWC final four years ago in Japan when the Boks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time.

"Everyone had a proper performance (against France in last week's quarterfinal), as individuals and a team, so we decided to go with continuity. There were also no injuries, so there was no reason to change," Nienaber said.

"The World Cup is a long tournament which is why we went with rotation early on. The quarterfinal team looked a lot like the team that lined up against Ireland and the other part of the squad got exposure in the Tonga game, which the players told us was...

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