Siya Kolisi will start and captain the Springboks in Saturday's second Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium, with Rassie Erasmus confirming his fitness on Tuesday after the grade two hamstring strain that kept him out of last weekend's 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park.
The injury, sustained at a breakdown against Argentina when Kolisi was cleaned out from behind while attempting to steal the ball, caused the muscle to overextend. Erasmus described it as touch-and-go last week, with Kolisi still feeling discomfort on Sunday before completing full training sessions on Monday and Tuesday without complaint.
Kolisi's return allows Pieter-Steph du Toit, who captained the side through the Nations Championship matches against England, Scotland and Wales and again on Saturday, to focus entirely on his play as he earns his 100th Test cap at Cape Town Stadium. Paul de Villiers drops out of the match-day 23 as a result of Kolisi's inclusion.
Erasmus highlighted the established combination between the two loose forwards. "Siya and Pieter have played a lot together and they know how to defend in the gates and they understand each other and they know how to run in the gates there," he said.
On the wing, Ethan Hooker has provisionally replaced Cheslin Kolbe, though Erasmus noted Kolbe was "looking very good" without committing to whether he would feature. Bongi Mbonambi, working his way back from knee and lower back injuries, is nearing a return but Erasmus indicated the hooker needs competitive game time before being considered for Test selection.