Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi.

Rassie Erasmus has opted to dominate the Rugby Championship headlines earlier than expected by naming his Round One Springboks team 24 hours before it was originally due.

There are eight changes to the starting XV from their last run-out, the July 19 win over Georgia in Nelspruit, with just 11 of the matchday 23 from that outing retained to host the Wallabies this Saturday.

Here are five Planet Rugby takeaways following Monday’s South Africa team announcement for the Ellis Park fixture.

Opportunity knocks for new number eight

At the veteran age of 34, two-time Rugby World Cup winning skipper Siya Kolisi could be forgiven for thinking he had seen it all as regards Test rugby with South Africa.

However, he will begin the 2025 Rugby Championship with a new string to his bow – his 94th Test cap will be the first time he will wear the number eight jersey.

It’s currently a fluid position for the Springboks. They began the season by naming Jean-Luc du Preez in that role for the uncapped warm-up versus the Barbarians in Cape Town.

Things became complicated a fortnight later, though, in Gqeberha.

Jasper Wiese, who had started the series opener against Italy in Pretoria, was red-carded in the first half of Test two for head-butting prop Danilo Fischetti, and this foul play resulted in a four-game suspension.

South Africa reacted by naming Cobus Wiese at number eight against Georgia, but it has now been decided to switch Kolisi from blindside to the back of the scrum for the Rugby Championship opener versus the Wallabies.

How much gas and physicality he can now provide as an eight will be intriguing.

Excluded 242-cap trio

The absence of three fit and available legendary Springboks from the latest Erasmus line-up highlights how the coach is very much on a building depth project with his squad now that the countdown is on towards their shot at an unprecedented hat-trick of consecutive Rugby World Cup titles.

Half-backs Faf de Klerk (age 33 – 60 caps) and Handre Pollard (31 – 82 caps), along with full-back Willie le Roux (35 – 100 caps) are all in South Africa’s Rugby Championship squad.

However, they will all watch from the stands this Saturday in Johannesburg as Grant Williams and Manie Libbok are the starting half-backs with Aphelele Fassi named at full-back, while Cobus Reinach, Canan Moodie and Damian Willemse are the preferred backs nominated for bench roles against the Australians.

Le Roux became a centurion in the second Test versus Italy but hasn’t otherwise featured, Pollard started the series opener against the Italians and benched against Georgia, while De Klerk was twice a sub last month.

However, all three are now noticeably surplus to requirements with South Africa moving on to the more serious business of making a winning start in the Championship.

5-3 bench tactic retained again

Next Saturday will be the third match in a row that Erasmus has named a bench consisting of five forwards and three backs.

The season opened with a six-two bench split, but the Bomb Squad failed to detonate in the second half against Italy in Pretoria and it seems they have decided a five-three combination is currently the best way forward for them.

The Italians were far more comfortably beaten in the Gqeberha rematch, and they also got a second-half run on the Georgians in Mbombela, performances that have left Erasmus and co. again opting for the five-three bench.

While the tactic has been given a vote of confidence, the personnel occupying those cover roles has been reshuffled.

Bongi Mbonambi, Kwagga Smith and Willemse are the three subs retained from the last day, with Moodie dropping down from the starting side.

Props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Franco Mostert and Reinach are the four new bench newcomers.

One thing to note, though, from Monday’s Erasmus media briefing: he said he could alter the bench split nearer the weekend depending how what divide the Wallabies go with.

Test rookies at prop

How the aforementioned Wessels and Ntlabakanye fare at the scrum will be of great interest this coming weekend.

This set-piece has always been an integral part of the Springboks’ operation, but the idea of going with two Test rookies at prop to steer the pack home is an intriguing challenge that Erasmus has embraced.

Wessels has just five caps while Ntlabakanye only made his Test debut last month, but they will be a focus of attention, and how they cope with the pressure of backing up Ox Nche and Wilco Louw will demand attention.

The third rookie on the match day 23 with five Test caps or less is winger Edwill van der Merwe.

He debuted in the 2024 opener versus Wales in London but was then overlooked. But he returned last month looking very much the real deal.

His level of finishing has now resulted in Erasmus keeping him in the starting team, a decision influenced by the coach opting to give the niggle-effected Cheslin Kolbe some extra training time following his return to fitness last week.

‘Giant’ endorsement

A niggle to Damian de Allende was also referenced in the Erasmus explanation for the selection of Andre Esterhuizen at inside centre in a midfield partnership with Jesse Kriel.

De Allende apparently “picked up a back niggle in the last two weeks and will train again this week,” explained the head coach. What was most interesting, though, was his follow-up line.

“Andre has been strong for us in the last few seasons, so it was an easy decision to name him alongside Jesse in the midfield.”

That confidence in Andre ‘the Giant’ is a marked contrast with how the midfielder was viewed some years ago.

He was excelling in the English Premiership with Harlequins, winning the title in 2021, gaining rave reviews and being voted players’ player of the season in 2022.

However, his face didn’t fit with the Springboks when it came to the selection crunch as he missed out more than he was in.

It was the summer of 2024, though, when he swapped London for Durban, and has this relocation to a home-based club played a significant part in him currying more favour from Erasmus?

In a team consisting of 16 home-based players and seven who play for Japanese clubs, next Saturday heralds Esterhuizen’s 21st cap and a ringing endorsement of his 80-minute display in last month’s second Test win over Italy.