Rugby Championship
Springboks recall Handre Pollard to face All Blacks
ESPN Staff
September 10, 2014
Jonah Lomu presents Handre Pollard of South Africa with the IRB Junior Player of the Year award, England v South Africa, Junior World Championship Final, Eden Park, Auckland, June 20, 2014
Handre Pollard is the reigning IRB Junior Player of the Year © Getty Images
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South Africa have made one change to their team for the Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday, recalling Handre Pollard at fly-half.

Pollard replaces Morne Steyn, with the rest of the starting team and the bench unchanged from that which lost 24-23 to Australia in Perth. Pollard, 20, is regarded as a rising star of South African rugby, having led South Africa to second place at the recent Junior World Championships.

He made his Super Rugby debut for the Bulls this year and then made his Test against Scotland in June just weeks after being named IRB Junior Player of the Year. He started both narrow wins over Argentina in the Rugby Championship before being dropped for the more conservative Steyn, 30, in Perth.

"With Morne, we know we've got a great kicking fly-half but I've always said we want to move on with the way we play," Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer said of the selection. "I truly believe Handre can be a world class 10. You have to back him."

Meyer backs Pollard's level head and, more to the point, his confidence heading into what he described as the ultimate challenge in world rugby.

"I don't think you're going to beat the All Blacks, especially away from home, if you just do the conventional," Meyer said. "Before the World Cup I have to expose him. He could be a big force. He's big and strong, a brilliant defender with a good kicking game and he's an unbelievable attacking player. I believe if you don't do it now, you're never going to know."

Captain Jean de Villiers, who is playing his 100th Test, will start outside Pollard and inside 21-year-old centre Jan Serfontein. Meyer said that Pollard and Serfontein were on a steep learning curve due the absence of injured backline veterans such as Francois Steyn, Jaque Fourie and JP Pietersen.

"That's probably been one of the worries in this team. The forwards are settled but we're struggling to get continuity in the backs. We're building a nice second tier of youngsters, which is going to come through."

Springboks: Willie le Roux; Cornal Hendricks, Jan Serfontein, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bryan Habana; Handre Pollard, Ruan Pienaar; Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee, Francois Louw; Victor Matfield, Eben Etzebeth; Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe, Lood de Jager, Warren Whiteley, Francois Hougaard, Pat Lambie, Damian de Allende.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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