Botha to lead World XV against South Africa

Bakkies Botha will captain the World XV against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday.
The 35-year-old leads an experienced side containing ten Toulon players like the Armitage brothers, Delon and Steffon, or French internationals Maxime Mermoz and Maxime Machenaud.
Head coach Robbie Deans said: “For a long time Bakkies has been a huge presence in the game here so it’ll be a real occasion when he leads the World XV out against his country.
“He’s really enjoyed this week, mixing with those he’s played against and he’s been a big contributor in helping the group come together. He was leading before he was appointed leader.”
“This is an important game for South Africa. They’ve got a Rugby Championship game next weekend so they’ll be looking for a good hit-out and we’ll provide that for them.
“We want to be competitive in the first instance so we can assist them in their build-up.
“There’s a few locals in the group and it’ll be a unique experience for them but there’s also a lot of blokes who have played Test rugby, who may not get the chance to play at Newlands again so it’s going to be special for many reasons.
“We’ve also got some young blokes who have yet to taste Test rugby but who will do in the future and it’s a great occasion for them. If it’s not a first Test cap, it’s as close as you can get.”
World XV: Delon Armitage; Lachlan Turner, JJ Engelbrecht, Maxime Mermoz, David Smith; Mike Harris, Luke Burgess; Gurthro Steenkamp, Craig Burden, Carl Hayman; Ali Williams, Bakkies Botha (Capt.);  Jordan Taufua, Steffon Armitage, Luke Whitelock.
Replacements: David Roumieu, Alexandre Menini, Petrus du Plessis, Flip Van der Merwe, Louis-Benoit Madaule, Maxime Machenaud, Andrew Horrell, Rudi Wulf.