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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
George Flood

South Africa team for Rugby World Cup Final: Cheslin Kolbe returns in Springboks' only change to face England

Cheslin Kolbe has returned to the South Africa team for Saturday's World Cup Final clash with England.

The speedy Toulouse back regains the No14 shirt from Sbu Nkosi - who drops out of contention altogether - having been left out of the semi-final victory over Wales due to concerns regarding an ankle injury.

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has also stuck with his preferred six-two split between forwards and backs on the bench, with another physical encounter in store this weekend.

Siya Kolisi will lead South Africa for the 20th time in Yokohama on his 50th cap as he looks to become the third South Africa captain after Francois Pienaar (1995) and John Smit (2007) to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

South Africa Position
Le Roux 15
Kolbe 14
Am 13
De Allende 12
Mapimpi 11
Pollard 10
De Klerk 9
Mtawarira 1
Mbonambi 2
Malherbe 3
Etzebeth 4
De Jager 5
Kolisi (capt) 6
Du Toit 7
Vermeulen 8
Replacements
Marx 16
Kitshoff 17
Koch 18
Snyman 19
Mostert 20
Louw 21
H Jantjies 22
Steyn 23

"Chessie [Kolbe] is fully fit and ready to go. It's tough on Sbu to drop out of the 23 altogether but he has made vital contributions to our campaign," Erasmus said.

"But we have been developing some momentum through the tournament, which has come from consistency and although we know there are things we can do better this is a fit, well-practiced set of combinations."

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