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Three changes in Springboks team for Saturday’s decider

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Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made three changes to his starting team for Saturday’s series decider against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town.

Two are personnel changes and one a positional switch, due to injuries to flank Pieter-Steph du Toit and scrumhalf, Faf de Klerk.

With Du Toit, the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2019, having taken a knock to the shoulder in the second Test last weekend, Franco Mostert moves from lock to the side of the scrum.

Lood de Jager is promoted from the bench to the starting team and will start alongside Eben Etzebeth in the second row.

Cobus Reinach replaces De Klerk, who was injured inside the opening 20 minutes of Saturday’s 27-9 victory that levelled the series at 1-1.

South Africa has deviated from their preferred 6-2 split on the bench between forwards and backs, and this time will have three backline players among the replacements, including flyhalf Morne Steyn, who kicked the Boks to victory in the 2009 series against the Lions.

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