South Africa will be seeking a bonus-point win over Canada to qualify for the Cup quarterfinals. The teams meet in a Pool B match on 8 October at Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe City. Kickoff is at 19:15 local (06:15 ET). The match may be viewed in the U.S. on-demand on NBC Sports Gold and on TSN channels 1 and 4 in Canada.
New Zealand tops Pool B with 14 points with South Africa and Italy with 10. Both Canada and Namibia are seeking their first win, as well as points.
South Africa need a bonus-point win over Canada, which would give the team 15 points. A non-bonus point win, coupled with a non-bonus point Italy win over New Zealand could mean that the Pool would be decided by point differential. Should Italy gain a bonus-point win over the All Blacks, they could win the pool with South Africa advancing if they obtain a bonus-point win over Canada or New Zealand still advancing if South Africa beats Canada without a bonus point.
That being said, New Zealand is strong favorites to win against Italy, with South Africa finishing second and Italy qualifying for the Rugby World Cup in 2023.
South Africa has a 2-1 record as they opened the RWC with a 23-13 loss to New Zealand, a 57-3 win over Namibia, and a 49-3 win over Italy.
Canada is seeking its first win after losing 48-7 to Italy and 63-0 to New Zealand. Canada concludes their RWC against Namibia on Saturday, with both teams seeking a win.
South Africa
After having a four-day turnaround for the match against Canada, head coach Rassie Erasmus has made 13 changes in his starters with only Captain Siya Kolisi and center Damian de Allende retained.
Five replacements from the 49-3 win over Italy moved to the starting line-up. They include prop Vincent Koch, flanker Francois Louw, locks Franco Mostert and RG Snyman, along with center Frans Steyn.
Nine staters are from the side that defeated Namibia 57-3 in the preceding match, while Damian Willemse, an injury replacement, gets the start at fullback.
Positional changes were also made in the backline, with Sbu Nkosi switching to the left-wing, Warrick Gelant on the right, and De Allende at outside center.
The bench is a powerful one and includes five of the starting XV from the victory over Italy in Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Handre Pollard, and Willie le Roux.
With the Cup Quarterfinals in mind, several players are being rested. These include Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Lukhanyo Am (center), Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi (wings), as well as, Lood de Jager, Duane Vermeulen, and Faf de Klerk.
Canada
Head Coach Kingsley Jones has made six changes to the line-up who took on the All Blacks. Andrew Coe, who will start at fullback, is the only Canadian player to score a try the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The front row was switched with Hubert Buydens, Andrew Quattrin, and Jake Ilnicki at loosehead, hooker, and tighthead prop, respectively. Kyle Baillie makes his first World Cup appearance after sustaining a leg injury in a warmup match against the USA on September 7. Phil Mack also gains a start at scrum-half.
Winger DTH Van Der Merwe makes his 15th World Cup appearance, the most for a Canada. Guiseppe du Toit, who plays for the Toronto Arrows, joined the team after the Italy match as a replacement for Nick Blevins, who suffered a broken jaw during that defeat.
Squads
South Africa: 1. Thomas du Toit 2. Schalk Brits 3. Vincent Koch 4. RG Snyman 5. Franco Mostert 6. Siya Kolisi (capt) 7. Kwagga Smith 8. Francois Louw 9. Cobus Reinach 10. Elton Jantjies 11. Sbu Nkosi 12. Frans Steyn 14. Warrick Gelant 15. Damian Willemse 16. Malcolm Marx 17. Steven Kitshoff 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Eben Etzebeth 20. Pieter-Steph du Toit 21. Herschel Jantjies 22. Handre Pollard 23. Willie le Roux
Canada: 1. Hubert Buydens 2. Andrew Quattrin 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Evan Olmstead 5. Kyle Baillie 6. Lucas Rumball 7. Matt Heaton 8. Tyler Ardron (capt.) 9. Phil Mack 10. Peter Nelson 11. DTH Van Der Merwe 12. Ciaran Hearn 13. Conor Trainor 14. Jeff Hassler 15. Andrew Coe 16. Benoit Piffero 17. Djustice Sears-Duru 18. Matt Tierney 19. Josh Larsen 20. Michael Sheppard 21. Jamie Mackenzie 22. Shane O’Leary 23. Guiseppe du Toit
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