BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Salmaan Moerat will captain a much-changed South Africa side that will try to clinch the Rugby Championship crown against Argentina this weekend in Santiago del Estero.
The Springboks lineup underwent 10 changes on Tuesday after beating New Zealand 18-12 in Cape Town 10 days ago to remain the only unbeaten team.
The only starters to hold their places were prop Ox Nche, lock Ruan Nortje, No. 8 Jasper Wiese, flyhalf Handre Pollard and center Jesse Kriel.
Change was signalled when seven starters were left at home last Saturday to rest up for the tournament-closing match with the Pumas next week in Nelspruit. The rested were front-rowers Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe, flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, and backs Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux. Also, scrumhalf Grant Williams didn't go because of an arm injury.
Captain Siya Kolisi travelled while delaying fixing a broken nose but has been stood down, also.
There's a new front row including Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit, Moerat joining Nortje in the second row, and new flankers Ben-Jason Dixon and Marco van Staden. Cobus Reinach will feed Pollard, Lukhanyo Am has paired with Kriel in midfield, and Makazole Mapimpi, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Aphelele Fassi fill out a new back three.
Coach Rassie Erasmus also turned over his team against Australia after winning the first test 33-7. He wanted to build squad depth and spread test experience. They won the second 30-12.
“It would be amazing to wrap up the Rugby Championship title this weekend but it won't be easy, and we have a bigger picture in mind as well, which is to build squad depth with an eye on the 2027 World Cup,” Erasmus said.
"The only way we can do that is to expose the younger players to tough opposition under difficult circumstances, and so far, all of them have risen to that challenge.
“This group features players who have played either against New Zealand, Australia or both, so they have come up against tough opposition in the last few weeks, and this weekend will be equally demanding both physically and mentally, and it excites us as a group.”
Lock Eben Etzebeth, on a 6-2 bench, will likely appear on Saturday and equal Victor Matfield's Springboks test caps record of 127.
Argentina will name its team on Thursday.
South Africa: Aphelele Fassi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Jasper Wiese, Ben-Jason Dixon, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Salmaan Moerat (captain), Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Niche. Reserves: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Jaden Hendrikse, Manie Libbok.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
New Zealand's Sevu Reece left, is to late to prevent South Africa's Malcom Marx from scoring a try during a rugby championship test match between South Africa and New Zealand at Cape Town Stadium South Africa, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
Asian markets forged higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession in the U.S. with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.1% to 37,155.33, lifted by major export manufacturers' shares. Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 5.1%, Sony Group Corp. added 2.9% and Hitachi Ltd. advanced 5.8%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.9% to 17,993.30.
The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7% to 2,736.51, while Taiwan's Taiex was up 1.7%.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,579.86.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also holding monetary policy meetings this week. Neither central bank is expected to move on rates, though the language of what the officials say could be an indicator of later moves and still influence markets.
Because the Fed's half-percentage point rate cut was so well telegraphed, markets had already climbed in anticipation. So, Wall Street’s reactions to the 180-degree turn on its policy rate were relatively muted.
“Markets barely reacted to the Fed’s 50 (basis point) rate cut, on balance, and our base case is that further cuts won’t move the needle too much either,” Thomas Mathews of Capital Economics said in a commentary.
It was the first cut to the federal funds rate in over four years, ending a stretch where the Fed kept rates at a two-decade high to slow the U.S. economy enough to stifle the worst inflation in generations.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, closing at 5,618.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% to 41,503.10. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3% to 17,573.30.
The Fed's move can help financial markets in two big ways. It eases the brakes off the economy, which has been slowing under the weight of higher rates, and it gives a boost to prices for all kinds of investments. Besides stocks, gold and bond prices had already rallied in recent months on expectations that rate cuts were coming.
Now that inflation has eased significantly from its peak two summers ago and appears to be heading toward 2%, the Fed says it it can turn more of its attention toward protecting the slowing job market and overall economy.
“The time to support the labor market is when it’s strong and not when you begin to see the layoffs,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. “That’s the situation we’re in.”
Some critics say the Federal Reserve may have already kept interest rates too high for too long, but Powell said that “We don’t think we’re behind.”
“We think this is timely. But I think you can take this as a sign of our commitment not to get behind,” Powell said in a press conference following the Fed’s announcement.”
“The focus has now decisively shifted to the labor market, and there’s a sense that the Fed is trying to strike a better balance between jobs and inflation,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management
Like stock prices, Treasury yields wavered up and down repeatedly immediately after the Fed announced its cut and published its projections.
Trading in Tupperware Brands remained halted after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its stock has been sinking, down to 51 cents, since a mini-revival early in the pandemic sent its stock above $30.
All told, the S&P 500 slipped 16.32 points to 5,618.26. The Dow dropped 103.08 to 41,503.10, and the Nasdaq composite lost 54.76 to 17,573.30.
In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 20 cents to $69.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, declined 22 cents to $73.43 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 142.58 Japanese yen from 142.29 yen. The euro rose to $1.1132 from $1.1120.
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Specialist Genaro Saporito, foreground, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The news conference of Federal' Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appears on a screen as trader Neil Catania works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Leon Montana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
