Five blacks start for Springboks

South Africa coach Allister Coetzee

AFP: South Africa coach Allister Coetzee included five blacks in his starting line-up and four on the bench for the first Test against Ireland in Cape Town on Saturday.

There is also one new cap, scrum-half Faf de Klerk, for an international that kicks off a three-Test series to be played on consecutive weekends.

The black starters in a previously predominantly white team are wingers JP Pietersen and Lwazi Mvovo, centre Lionel Mapoe, loosehead prop Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira and flanker Siya Kolisi.

Replacement fly-half Elton Jantjies, scrum-half Rudy Paige, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and utility prop Trevor Nyakane complete the nine-strong black presence.

South African Rugby (SAR) and the South African sports ministry have agreed that half the 23-man matchday squad at the 2019 World Cup in Japan must be black.

The government wants the hugely popular Springboks to better reflect the population of a country which is 90% black.

Black players were barred from representing South Africa during the apartheid era and post-isolation racial transformation of the team has been snail-like.

“I am excited about the composition of the team and the players selected are rewarded for consistently good Super Rugby performances,” Coetzee said after naming his matchday 23.

“We have worked extremely hard these past two weeks to become a team and to make sure we cover all the necessary areas so we can face the Irish.

“The big test will come up front where we will have to make sure that we do well at set-pieces, especially at scrums and line-outs.

“Those are the areas where the Irish have been strong, so we want to compete there and set a platform so our backs can hopefully get into their rhythm.”

Former Super Rugby coach Coetzee took charge of the twice world champions two months ago and was tasked with racially transforming the team and restoring a winning culture.

Predecessor Heyneke Meyer opted not to seek a renewal of his four-year contract last December after a disastrous season on and off the field.

South Africa were the victims of the biggest shock in Rugby World Cup history when they lost their opening 2015 match to ‘no-hopers’ Japan.

The Springboks were also beaten for the first time by Argentina and felled twice by their greatest foes, New Zealand.

Reaction to Meyer persistently refusing to embrace racial change included a failed legal attempt to prevent the Springboks travelling to the World Cup in England.