Rassie Erasmus has taken a number of risks with his Springboks selection after naming the side to take on Scotland this weekend.

The big headline sees South Africa name a 7-1 bench split for the first time since the Rugby World Cup final, but the head coach has made several interesting calls.

In the backline alone, the entirety of the outside backs could be considered the Boks’ second-string with Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende and Jess Kriel all omitted.

That means Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie start on the wings with Andre Esterhuizen and Lukhanyo Am the centre combination.

Willie le Roux takes his place at full-back, playing his fifth Test of the year and his first since Round Four of the Rugby Championship.

Jaden Hendrikse is the only back to retain his place from the Argentina clash with Handre Pollard coming into the fly-half slot in place of Manie Libbok.

Kwagga Smith milestone

Up front, it will be a big day for Kwagga Smith, who starts at number eight and will earn his 50th Springboks cap.

“Kwagga is a vastly talented player and a fantastic team member, and I’m delighted to see him reach this big career milestone,” Erasmus said.

“It takes a special player who performs consistently well over a few years to reach this achievement, and Kwagga has certainly done so while maintaining the same high standards at training and on the field. We are very proud of him.

Smith is joined in the back-row by Elrigh Louw and Marco van Staden with key duo Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit being kept in reserve on the bench.

Kolisi’s demotion means that Eben Etzebeth captains the side and he is joined by the returning Franco Mostert at lock.

In the front-row, Ox Nche and Bongi Mbonambi continue at loosehead and hooker respectively, but Thomas du Toit comes in at tighthead to complete the XV.

South Africa have therefore named a ridiculously powerful bench with Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Kolisi, Du Toit and Jasper Wiese the seven forwards. Grant Williams is the sole back.

“This is a seasoned and quality team and adding to that 21 of the 23 players have won a Rugby World Cup title, with some having won two, so they know what it takes to perform at this level,” Erasmus added.

“Many of these combinations have also played together this season either during the Castle Lager Incoming Series and Rugby Championship, or both, which will be valuable against a quality team such as Scotland.

“We are expecting an extremely physical match, so we opted for a seven-one split of forwards on the bench, and this was aided by the fact that we have such versatile players in the backline, who can cover different positions if necessary.”

On the challenge of Scotland the head coach said: “They are ranked seventh in the world and they’re a team that never stop fighting. They also have top quality players in their squad, we know it’s going to be an epic battle.

“In the Rugby World Cup last year, we were only three points up against them at half-time, and with the new dynamic they have brought to their game, we know it’s going to be an 80-minute battle.

“They’ll also have a passionate and vocal home crowd behind them, and we know what energy that brings to our team when we play at home, so that will boost them even more going into the match.”

Springboks team to face Scotland

Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 22 Jasper Wiese, 23 Grant Williams

Date: Sunday, November 10
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16:10 GMT (18:10 SAST)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)