It's a testament to the Springboks' depth that they will field a team with 1,097 caps against Japan despite a debut for prop Zachary Porthen.

Cheslin Kolbe will start at fullback for the second time in his Test career, and the first in three years, as Bok coach Rassie Erasmus named an exciting lineup to take on Japan at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday, 1 November.

Kolbe is no stranger to operating in various positions in the backline, but the only time he wore the No 15 jersey in a Test was against Ireland in 2022.

That day, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Makazole Mapimpi were the wings, completing a quality back three.

Arendse was then only three Tests into his career. He will earn his 28th cap this weekend, with Kolbe making his 47th Test appearance. Ethan Hooker, who will earn his sixth Test cap, completes an exciting back three.

"Cheslin has played a lot of rugby at fullback when he was in the French Top 14," said Erasmus. "We could probably have started Manie Libbok or Handré Pollard at flyhalf and moved Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] to fullback as well.

"But we wanted some continuity at flyhalf, with Sacha still finding...