Zachary Porthen, former Junior Springbok captain and Stormers tighthead prop, will make his international debut when South Africa (SA) faces Japan at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus selected a largely settled match-day 23 for the first game of the November Internationals, emphasising the importance of the fixture for players returning from Japan’s professional league.

Erasmus explained that the game was arranged specifically to give these players valuable match practice. “There are around eleven or twelve players, including Manie, who play in Japan. Without test matches for us, they wouldn’t have had much game time. This fixture was always planned to get them match-fit,” he said.

The match is the first step in SA’s end-of-year tour, with the team preparing for key tests against France and Ireland later in the series.

–ChannelAfrica–