Handré Pollard handed Springboks Test debut

Baby Boks captain Handré Pollard will make his Test debut on Saturday after being named at fly-half by Heyneke Meyer to face Scotland in Port Elizabeth.
The Junior Player of the Year gets the nod over Morne Steyn at No.10 in one of six changes from the side which narrowly beat Wales by 31-30 in Nelspruit last weekend.
Lwazi Mvovo is the only other change in the back line taking over from Bryan Habana while Marcell Coetzee and Schalk Burger come into the back row for Willem Alberts and Bath‘s Francois Louw.
Lood de Jager will partner captain Victor Matfield in the engine room with Coenie Oosthuizen replacing the injured Tendai Mtawarira at loosehead.
Along Pollard, four players, Marcel van der Merwe, Stephan Lewies, Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje and Marnitz Boshoff, could have their first taste of international rugby should they come off the bench.
“Handré is a very talented player and has a big opportunity this week, but he’ll have Fourie du Preez’s experience next to him, while he’s played a lot with Jan Serfontein before. It’s great to have the current and a former World Junior Player of the Year in the same backline,” said Meyer.
“The other new faces in the starting line-up have been part of our squad for some time and they all deserve a run.
“We had to make a number of changes to the team and while team selection is never easy, especially this week when we had to make a few hard decisions, it’s been great to see the excitement under the players for this final Test of the series.
“Our plans had always been to try a few new combinations this week against Scotland and I’m looking forward to see the guys grab their opportunities.”
“Scotland are always a tough opponent, like we saw last year in Nelspruit, but our aim is to build on the two victories over Wales in the last fortnight. “
South Africa: Willie le Roux; Cornal Hendricks, JP Pietersen, Jan Serfontein, Lwazi Mvovo; Handre Pollard, Fourie du Preez; Coenie Oosthuizen, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis ; Lood de Jager, Victor Matfield (Capt.); Marcel Coetzee, Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe, Stephan Lewies, Oupa Mohoje, Francois Hougaard, Marnitz Boshoff, Zane Kirchner.