As South Africa makes 12 changes for Tonga, Handre Pollard gets the start.

With Tonga on the schedule to play South Africa this Sunday in Marseille, many changes have been made from the team that fell to Ireland last week.

Jacques Nienaber has called on fly-half Handre Pollard, leaving only the captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, and Jasper Wiese in the starting XV.

Pollard was chosen last week to replace hooker Malcolm Marx in the Springboks’ World Cup roster.
Despite not playing against Ireland, he was predicted to play against Tonga because of South Africa’s issues with the tee in Paris.
Manie Libbok, who was scheduled to start at fly-half against Ireland, has been moved to the bench as Nienaber decided against using a 7-1 split against the top-ranked team in the world in favor of a more traditional 5-3 split.

Deon Fourie, a flanker and hooker, starts in the No. 2 jersey, with Marco van Staden, another flanker and hooker, filling in for Bongi Mbonambi on the bench.
Jasper Wiese keeps the No. 8 spot, so Duane Vermeulen will start elsewhere in the pack but in an unfamiliar position at the side of the scrum.
Injured and forced to leave the Romania game just before it began, Vincent Koch also makes his debut.

In the backline, scrum-half Grant Williams will be used on the wings once more, as he did against Romania, with Cobus Reinach starting at scrum-half.

Nienaber emphasized the significance of choosing a physical team to match Tonga in light of their opponents on Sunday.

When playing a team like Tonga, who play with passion and force, a strong and physical team is exactly what is needed, according to Nienaber.

“Each of us is aware of the significance of this game in terms of advancing to the quarterfinals, so precise execution, physicality, and doing our fundamentals correctly will be essential to achieve the desired outcome.

“After losing their first two matches of the tournament, they will enter with the belief that they have nothing to lose, so they won’t hold back.

They displayed some impressive moments in their games against Scotland and Ireland, so a full 80-minute performance is necessary.
For us, the focus will be on taking the necessary action to move past the pool stages, recover from last week, and gain momentum.
“.

It is now ideal for South Africa to not only win, but win with a bonus-point to provide some security if Scotland defeats Ireland in the final weekend of pool stage action.
This is because of their defeat to Ireland.

South Africa XV