Libbok gets Springboks fly-half start against England

Manie Libbok will start at fly-half for South Africa against England, replacing the injured Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Handre Pollard was in contention for the role but is not in the starting XV named by the Springboks.

The selection is one of four changes from South Africa’s most recent full-strength outing, a 24-13 win over Ireland in November. Grant Williams starts at scrum-half, Kurt-Lee Arendse returns on the wing, and Ox Nche joins Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit in the front row.

There is also milestone significance in the backline, with Cheslin Kolbe and Damian Willemse set for their 50th caps. The pack includes established figures such as Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit, while the bench follows a more conventional forwards-backs split than some recent South Africa experiments.

Rassie Erasmus has framed the squad as a blend of proven players and younger options ready for this level. England had not named their team at the time of the source report, leaving one half of the selection picture still to come before Saturday’s match.