Mbonambi knock sees Dweba start against All Blacks
Springbok hooker Joseph Dweba will start Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand at Ellis Park in an injury-enforced change to the run-on side.
Dweba’s inclusion follows the withdrawal of Bongi Mbonambi as a precautionary measure after taking a knock his knee at training on Tuesday afternoon.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said Mbonambi would go for scans to his knee, but with limited training time left before Saturday’s Test the coaches opted to withdraw him for this clash.
“We have an important Castle Lager Rugby Championship tour coming up and a year-end tour later this year, so we don’t want to take any risks with Bongi,” said Nienaber.
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“Joseph has been working hard at training and he’s been waiting patiently for his chance, and we feel that it doesn’t get better than facing the All Blacks, who are one of the best teams in the world.
“We have big squad and a large part of the logic around that decision was to ensure that all the players are familiar with our structures and systems, and to expose them to Test rugby to build our squad depth with an eye on next year’s Rugby World Cup. So, this will be a fantastic opportunity for Joseph.”
Nienaber said Dweba’s strong combination with Nche also played a role in his leap straight into the starting lineup.
“Joseph and Ox come a long way together. They’ve played close to 100 first-class games together, and they know each other well on and off the field having played together since school level at HTS Louis Botha.
“They progressed through the SA Rugby junior rugby ranks together before forming a strong combination at the Toyota Cheetahs in the Carling Currie Cup and Guinness Pro14 competitions, and we believe their familiarity will give us the best chance in this match,” added Nienaber.
