 Brussow was not named in the Springboks' initial squad |
Loose forward Heinrich Brussow has been named in the South Africa side to face the British and Irish Lions in the first Test in Durban on Saturday. The 22-year-old replaces open-side flanker Schalk Burger, who has failed to recover from a calf injury. Brussow impressed for the Free State Cheetahs in their 26-24 defeat by the Lions earlier this month. John Smit captains the side from prop while Francois Steyn starts at full-back and Ruan Pienaar at fly-half. Brussow, who was not in the Springboks' initial 28-man squad, has made one Test appearance, coming on as a substitute against England during South Africa's end-of-year tour last year.  | 606: DEBATE |
"I immediately called my parents and my girlfriend to tell them and they were over the moon," he said after his call-up on Monday. "I was disappointed to miss out on selection into the original squad, which has a lot of great players, but I am very happy about being called in." Sixteen players in the squad were in the Springboks' 22 for the Test against England in November 2008, when the world champions handed the hosts a record 42-6 defeat at Twickenham.
South Africa: Francois Steyn; JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana; Ruan Pienaar, Fourie du Preez; Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Heinrich Brussow, Juan Smith, Pierre Spies.
Replacements: Gurthro Steenkamp, Deon Carstens, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Ricky Januarie, Jaque Fourie, Morne Steyn.
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