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South Africa will welcome Steve Tandy’s side to Durban this weekend
South Africa have named their team to face Wales in the Nations Championship this weekend, with head coach Rassie Erasmus making wholesale changes to his starting side.
The Springboks will welcome Steve Tandy’s side to Durban on Saturday and field a starting XV with 10 changes to the one that helped to defeat Scotland 42-28 over the weekend. Four uncapped players have been named, with wing Jaco Williams, fly-half Vusi Moyo, lock Ruben van Heerden and prop Carlu Sadie all making their Test debuts.
Pieter-Steph du Toit – who, alongside Paul de Villiers and Jesse Kriel, is one of only three players to start all three Nations Championship games for the Springboks – will again captain the side in the absence of Siya Kolisi.
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Erasmus will be without the likes of the injured Eben Etzebeth, Andre Esterhuizen and Handre Pollard, but has named a matchday squad full of quality, with Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse among his options from the bench.
South Africa kicked off their Nations Championship campaign with a convincing win over England before their victory over Scotland in Pretoria. Wales, meanwhile, got off to a winning start against Fiji before being beaten 35-21 by Argentina in San Juan on Saturday.
Tandy’s men will need no reminder of their last clash with the Springboks, when they suffered their biggest ever home defeat by being thumped 73-0 in Cardiff in November.
Going early with his squad announcement on Monday, Erasmus said: “We told the players from the start of the season that if everything played out well, we would give everyone in the squad a chance to play in the competition, and we are excited to see what the uncapped players, as well as those who have not been in the mix for a while, bring to the team.
“This squad shows an exciting mix of youth and experience, and while we are under no illusions about the threat Wales poses, we are looking forward to seeing what these players can do.”
“Wales put up a good fight in their Six Nations matches against Scotland and Ireland, and they defeated Italy in their final match of the tournament,” the Springboks boss added.
“They also beat Fiji in the Nations Championship before going down against Argentina in a competitive match last week, so they are on the rise and will come out with a point to prove this weekend.”
Tandy is expected to announce his team on Thursday, with Wales arriving in South Africa on Monday following their 5,000-mile flight from Argentina.
South Africa: 15. Aphele Fassi; 14. Jaco Williams, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10. Vusi Moyo, 9. Cobus Reinach; 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Malcolm Marx, 3. Carlu Sadie, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Ruben van Heerden, 6. Paul de Villiers, 7. Peter-Steph du Toit (capt), 8. J Wiese
Replacements: 16. Andre-Hugo Venter, 17. Jen-Hendrik Wessels, 18. Wilco Louw, 19. Ben-Jason Dixon, 20. Marco van Staden, 21. Herschel Jantjies, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. Damian Willemse.
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