Rugby World Cup LIVE: South Africa v Romania score and latest updates

Anthems done. We’re about to get underway in Bordeaux. How many points can the Boks stick on the Oaks today?

A reminder of the team news. Although a late change for the Springboks as Vincent Koch has suffered an injury during warm-ups, so Trevor Nyakane comes off the bench to start at tighthead and Frans Malherbe comes on to the bench.

South Africa XV: 15-Willie Le Roux, 14-Grant Williams, 13-Canan Moodie, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Makazole Mapimpi, 10-Damian Willemse, 9- Cobus Reinach; 1-Ox Nche, 2-Mbongeni Mbonambi (c), 3-Trevor Nyakane, 4-Jean Kleyn, 5-Marvin Orie, 6-Marco van Staden, 7-Kwagga Smith, 8-Duane Vermeulen.

Replacements: 16-Deon Fourie, 17-Steven Kitshoff, 18-Frans Malherbe, 19-RG Snyman, 20-Jasper Wiese, 21-Jaden Hendrikse, 22-Faf de Klerk, 23-Jesse Kriel.

Romania XV: 15-Marius Simionescu, 14-Tevita Manumua, 13-Jason Tomane, 12-Taylor Gontineac, 11-Nicolas Onutu, 10-Hinckley Vaovasa, 9-Gabriel Rupanu; 1-Iulian Hartig, 2-Ovidiu Cojocaru, 3-Alexandru Gordas, 4-Adrian Motoc, 5-Marius Iftimiciuc, 6-Andre Gorin, 7-Vlad Neculau, 8-Cristi Chirica (c).

Replacements: 16-Robert Irimescu, 17-Alexandru Savin, 18-Thomas Cretu, 19-Stefan Iancu, 20-Damian Stratila, 21-Cristi Boboc, 22-Alin Conache, 23-Gabriel Pop.

The Boks fans are out in force ahead of this clash. We’re less than 10 minutes away from kick-off now.

Full back is such a unique position. You have to have the fundamentals and the foundations in place: be able to catch a high ball, be that last line of defence and make good decisions on the counterattack. But the position is everchanging. Gone are the days of standing at the back and popping up in the outside channels; you can’t just be renowned for being good under high balls or having a strong kicking game. You now have to have an all-round game because you will be asked to step up at first or second receiver and organise players around you.

Other than nine and 10, the full-back is up there in a lot of games for the most touches. We have moved towards a more expansive brand of rugby. When I first started playing rugby, you had a 12 or a 13 who would crash it up the middle, make a dent in the opposition’s backline and then play second or third phase.

Teams are bringing that much line speed now that you need someone with a bit of creativity and a good rugby brain to play off, someone who can get their hands free and offload or use an attacking kicking game.

We are fortunate at the moment to have so many incredible full-backs going around and thriving in France at the Rugby World Cup. I’m biased, obviously, but I love seeing a good full-back play. It tells you a lot about the rest of the backline – how many touches are they going to get? It informs the opposition kicking game.

Read Stuart Hogg’s full column here:

In a realm of rugby royalty, the current kings of the world are hard at work trying to defend their crown. Wander the streets of Toulon over the next few weeks and you might just spy a Springbok or two, with the reigning champions, South Africa, making the town their home as they bid for back-to-back wins at this Rugby World Cup.

It is a decade since the millions of French businessman Mourad Boudjellal powered Toulon to the first of three consecutive Heineken Cup crowns, a side of stars led by Jonny Wilkinson at fly half altering the landscape of European rugby. The trophy-laden days of those Galacticos are mostly at an end, but this remains a famous rugby town, and a remodelled Toulon side secured the second tier Challenge Cup in Dublin in May

Nestled at the western edge of the Cote d’Azur, the Stade Mayol is just a stone’s throw from the harbour where yachts intermingle with more menacing vessels from the naval base next door. Chat to any long-standing restaurateur, and there are plenty to talk to, and they will regale with tale of the greats – and with most all too aware the Springboks are nearby, it’s not long until Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith or Bryan Habana get a mention.

Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full deep dive into the Springboks’s training base:

The Springboks opened their campaign in France with a comfortable 18-3 victory over Scotland in Marseille, setting them up nicely in Pool B, which also features the world’s number one-ranked side, Ireland.

Tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse and Pieter-Steph du Toit allowed the 2019 winners to pull away in the second half, with their pack enforcing its will both in the scrum and at the breakdown.

And for Thomas, who won 100 caps for Wales as well as captaining the British & Irish Lions, South Africa’s ability to challenge teams in a multitude of ways is what makes them such a formidable opponent.

South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has explained that the traffic light signalling system used by the Springboks staff during their win over Scotland was used to send messages related to injuries.

It was not the first time such a system had been used, with Erasmus having done so in South African domestic rugby the best part of two decades ago while coach of the Cheetahs.

The novel method of communicating with staff on-field did catch the eye, though, with Nienaber revealing that a previous visit to the noisy Stade Velodrome had prompted a different approach.

South Africa have suffered a major World Cup injury blow with hooker Malcolm Marx ruled out of the tournament with a torn ACL.

Marx, one of the world’s best hookers, suffered the injury in training ahead of the Springboks’ second pool fixture against Romania.

The 29-year-old had not been due to feature in that game, but was likely to be South Africa’s starting hooker for the remainder of the tournament.

The Springboks have elected not to replace Marx in their 33-man squad “at this stage”.