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Cape Town - Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says they’ll be ready for the stern challenge posed by Wales in their Rugby World Cup semi-final clash in Yokohama on Sunday.
"We've been fortunate to have been able to be pretty consistent in selection and weve built some nice momentum," Erasmus told the Springboks' official website after naming his team on Thursday.
"But the challenge just got a lot tougher on Sunday. Wales are the reigning Six Nations champions - as well as Grand Slam winners - and apart from three defeats in their Rugby World Cup warm-ups have put together a really good sequence of results.
"But we've also found some rhythm and we'll be ready for the challenge."
After the disappointment of 2015, when South Africa lost their semi-final 20-18 to eventual winners New Zealand, Erasmus said the Boks' aim was to reach the final.
"We have been working hard for 18 months to put ourselves in a position to win the Rugby World Cup and that opportunity is now just 80 minutes away," the coach added.
"These players have worked with unbelievable energy to get Springbok rugby back into this position and I know they will leave nothing out on the field on Sunday.
"We can feel the excitement coming from back home in South Africa and how much success will mean to our country. We know we’re playing for South Africa; that this is bigger than an 80-minute game of rugby."
Erasmus made only one change to his match-day squad from the one that beat Japan 26-3 in the quarter-finals last Sunday.
S'bu Nkosi replaces Cheslin Kolbe at right wing, with the latter ruled out due to an ankle injury.
Kick-off for Sunday’s clash at Yokohama International Stadium is scheduled for 11:00 (SA time).
Teams:
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 S'bu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn
Wales
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Substitutes: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin
