Siya Kolisi has been passed fit and will start at DHL Stadium on Saturday, resuming the captaincy for the second Test of the Castle Double Malt Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand.
Kolisi missed the first Test in Johannesburg with a grade two hamstring tear sustained against Argentina three weeks ago. Rassie Erasmus confirmed on Tuesday that Kolisi completed full-pace running sessions on both Monday and Tuesday without discomfort, clearing the way for his return.
"It was a hamstring niggle, not something major like he had before 2019 or 2023. It was a grade two tear, and it takes a little time to recover, and that's why we've been cautious," Erasmus said. "Last week it was touch and go, but we told him he had to run full out on Monday and he did so on Tuesday as well without any discomfort, so he's good to go."
Pieter-Steph du Toit, who held the captaincy in Kolisi's absence, will earn his 100th Test cap on Saturday. Erasmus said relieving Du Toit of the captaincy was a deliberate call to allow him to mark the milestone without the added burden of leading the side. Du Toit takes his place in a loose trio alongside Kolisi and Jasper Wiese at No 8. Paul de Villiers drops out of the matchday squad entirely.
On the captaincy handback, Erasmus said: "Pieter-Steph just took the captaincy for us on Monday so Siya could fully concentrate on his recovery. In this match you probably don't want captaincy responsibilities, with the 100 to think about, and on top of that needing to play well."
Erasmus also addressed the Johannesburg defeat directly, accepting personal responsibility for elements of the loss. "When we reviewed the game on Monday, we felt we were very dominant throughout up until about the 60-minute mark, and we were just a bit inaccurate in a few departments. The plan didn't win the game for us, but it's definitely also not the players who lost the game. I'm taking responsibility for some of the decisions we made."
With the series now requiring a win to stay alive, Erasmus acknowledged the stakes clearly. "We're one game down, and if we don't win this game, we can't win the series, we can only draw it."
Kickoff at DHL Stadium is at 17h10, live on SuperSport.