Pieter-Steph du Toit and Elton Jantjies replace Lood de Jager and Pat Lambie, while the Lions pair of Franco Mostert and Ruan Combrinck come on to the bench looking to make their debuts on their home ground.
The injury to Lambie has seen veteran Morne Steyn brought into the squad where he’ll act as cover on the bench.
The Bok coach ignore the temptation to drop players who struggled last week in Cape Town, saying they have another opportunity to prove their worth on Saturday.
“We’re starting on a new slate this week. That’s why I’ve given most of the same players an opportunity to redeem themselves and make sure they get it right. I believe in second chances. Players need to improve this weekend. If they don’t, obviously then I need to look at other players.”
Coetzee says it’s unreasonable to expect the Springboks to come out firing in their very first game together as a group, saying the team will take time to hit it’s straps.
“It’s no excuse, I will never use excuses. We were poor, the Irish were better than us last week. A game plan can never settle in after one game. We probably want to settle in and play our best rugby around 2018/2019. Somehow we have to start and make mistakes to be able to rectify that.”
Kick-off is at 5pm on Saturday.
