Emerging Springboks coach Dick Muir has confirmed his team to play the British & Irish Lions at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The line-up features Springboks squad member Earl Rose at fly-half who was withdrawn from the Golden Lions side to face the tourists by South Africa coach Peter de Villiers earlier in the tour. He will be joined by his provincial half-back partner Jano Vermaak at scrum-half while another Western Province prop Wiaan du Preez and centre Morgan Newman are two of several players to have featured against the tourists already.
The team, that has neve will be captained by Blue Bulls flanker Dewald Potgieter and also features his provincial team mates Wilhelm Steenkamp, Werner Kruger and Bandise Maku.
"We are blessed with the amount of depth we have in South African rugby and the group of players assembled here proves that," said Muir. "We are wary of the fact that the British & Irish Lions will be looking to bounce back after their defeat in the first Test, but I'm confident that we'll be competitive against them on Tuesday evening."
Assistant South Africa coach Muir expects nothing but a fully committed approach from the Lions following their narrow defeat in the 1st Test in Durban on Saturday.
"The Lions won't be vulnerable - guys will be playing for Test spots, while for others it could be their last outing of the tour," he told keo.co.za. But there is an opportunity there for us to strike a blow. We are all working towards a common goal: to win the series. It would be an added bonus for South Africa to win two in a row after the Lions had six victories under their belt."
The Lions were greeted with rain on their arrival in Cape Town on Sunday and similar conditions are forecast for tomorrow night's game but Muir said his side would like to play an expansive game.
"You have to be sure of the conditions before you can try anything, but we certainly want to move the ball around," he said. "With this team we would have liked to play on a dry, hard surface instead of slippery and wet one, but it is a challenge for us as coaches. This side also has the ability to play expansively and tight."
Emerging Springboks: Zane Kirchner (Blue Bulls), Luzuko Vulindlu (The Sharks), Deon van Rensburg (Leopards), Morgan Newman (Western Province), Bjorn Basson (Griquas), Earl Rose (Golden Lions), Jano Vermaak (Golden Lions), Duane Vermeulen (Western Province), Jean Deysel (The Sharks), Dewald Potgieter (c) (Blue Bulls), Wilhelm Steenkamp (Blue Bulls), Steven Sykes (The Sharks), Werner Kruger (Blue Bulls), Bandise Maku (Blue Bulls), Wian du Preez (Free State Cheetahs)
Replacements: Tiaan Liebenberg (Western Province), Pat Cilliers (The Sharks), Franco van der Merwe (Golden Lions), Jacques Botes (The Sharks), Heini Adams (Blue Bulls), Willem de Waal (Western Province), Danwel Demas (Free State Cheetahs)
Emerging Boks name strong side to face Lions
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