Lukhanyo Am to be a spectator again for Springboks-England?

The Springboks will next face England this Saturday, 21 October, in a World Cup semi-final match that kicks off at 21:00, and they will want to ensure they don’t slip up after completing an epic quarter-final win over France. One very big question is whether Lukhanyo Am could be selected for a role on the bench, especially considering that the impressive and in-form Jesse Kriel has firmly taken over the No 13 jersey.

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The fact of the matter is that Lukhanyo Am hasn’t played a competitive top-tier game for an extended period of time, and so while he may be fully fit, it does seem probable that there won’t be space for him in the matchday 23 at this stage.

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For the most part, the Springboks’ team selections against France worked a treat, with the experience of players such as Kwagga Smith, Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk ultimately making a big difference during the dying stages of the game.

A lot of the selections were specifically made for the challenge France would pose, though, and it will be very interesting to see whether any changes are made this week.

Could Pollard return to the No 10 jersey? Perhaps with Faf de Klerk back as his halfback partner?

For the English team, the Springboks may also want to revert to a 6-2 bench.

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NO SPACE FOR LUKHANYO AM?

Possible Springboks team – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Willie le Roux.

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EYES ON THE NEXT CHALLENGE

After Sunday’s result, coach Jacques Nienaber was open about his excitement, but said the Boks still had work to do if they wanted to defend their title.

“There were good things and other things we didn’t do so well,” said Nienaber, “but there was the pressure of a knock-out game, and we know there is a lot we need to work on going forward.”

The Springboks will move hotels in Paris on Monday and will have the day off to rest and recover before returning to training on Tuesday for the semi-final.

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