South Africa have named a surprise half-back pairing of Manie Libbok and Cobus Reinach and only five forwards on the bench for Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against hosts France.
Coach Jacques Nienaber had several selection conundrums ahead of the game at the Stade de France, with the most anticipated being the choice of fly-half, and in naming his side on Friday gave the nod to Libbok despite misgivings about his kicking abilities.
He is selected over Handre Pollard, who is seen as much more reliable with his kicking but not as innovative in the pivot post.
Reinach comes in for Faf de Klerk at scrum-half, with Nienaber saying he was better suited to dealing with the French kicking game.
"We selected the team that we think will give us the best opportunity to win the game on Sunday," the coach said.
After picking seven forwards among the replacements for their last huge clash against Ireland, Nienaber has gone with a 5:3 split of forwards to backs, marking a change of approach as they look to match the attacking verve of the hosts.
South Africa: Willemse; Arendse, Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe; Libbok, Reinach; Kitshoff, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Mostert, Kolisi (capt), Du Toit, Vermeulen.
Replacements: Fourie, Nche, Koch, Snyman, Smith, De Klerk, Pollard, Le Roux.
Watch England v Fiji and France v South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow live blogs on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
