Springboks v All Blacks<\/p>\n
Kick-off: 3am Sunday 1 September (NZT)<\/p>\n
Ellis Park, Johannesburg<\/p>\n
Live blog coverage on RNZ Sport<\/p>\n
After being initially ruled out of this weekend’s Rugby Championship test against the All Blacks, lock Eben Etzebeth has been named in the Springbok squad. The two-time World Cup winner was\u00a0initially sidelined with a knee injury<\/a>, however coach Rassie Erasmus reversed his call today in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n The move means Marco van Staden drops out of the squad to accommodate Etzebeth on the bench as part of the now-famous Springbok ‘bomb squad’, the name given to the carefully selected forwards Erasmus injects into the game simultaneously.<\/p>\n “Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco,” said Erasmus.<\/p>\n “There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team. We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what’s best for the team, and it’s admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is.”<\/p>\n