Swys de Bruin and Allan Bunting have announced their teams to meet on Saturday at Sandy Park Exeter (KO 13.00 BST)
They are:
South Africa:
15 DOLF 14 SAMBOYA 13 MPUPHA 12 NGWEVU 11 MALINGA 10 VAN RENSBURG 9 ROOS 1 CHARLIE 2 GWALA 3 LATSHA 4 BOOI 5 LOCHNER 6 SOLONTSI 7 MCATSHULWA 8 HELE
16 HANEKOM 17 NGXINGOLO 18 MOLIKI 19 UBISI 20 QOLO 21 MAKUA 22 JACOBS 23 WEBB
New Zealand:
15 HOLMES 14 SORENSEN-McGEE 13 WAAKA 12 SETEFANO 11 WOODMAN-WICKLIFFE 10 DEMANT 9 JOSEPH 1 VILIKO 2 PONSONBY 3 MAHUTARIKI-FAKALELU 4 ROOS 5 A. BREMNER 6 MIKAELE-TU’U 7 MILLER 8 OLSEN-BAKER
16 LOLOHEA 17 TANGEN-WAINOHU 18 HENWOOD 19 BAYFIELD 20 TUKUAFU 21 HAHAHIA 22 DU PLESSIS 23 LETI-I’IGA
The reason de Bruin has made ten changes is straightforward: he was saving his strongest selection for a first-ever quarter-final.
What is far less straightforward is his preference for a 7:1 split on the bench. I see this as an utterly ridiculous, even potentially harmful step.
It is in imitation of the male Boks’ strategy. Unfortunately the two teams are not similar enough. His prime hope seems to be to squeeze the life out of the Ferns’ pack. But that can endure for only a fraction of the game, as the French proved. And it leaves the field open for the Ferns’ backs to show their great skills. They are likely to run their opponents into the dust (no offence intended to the groundstaff).
Bunting meanwhile makes one enforced change: Sylvia Brunt’s injury offers a place to Theresa Setefano in the centre. Kaipo Olsen-Baker returns at No 8 and Maia Joseph is preferred at 9.
This quarter-final has the most predictable outcome of the four. South Africa show enormous promise, but it depends on their adoption of a sensible all-round game.
