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Cape Town - For the first time in this season, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named an unchanged run-on team that will face Wales in the final match of South Africa's Northern Hemisphere tour.
READ: Welsh on the hunt for streaker blamed for ’98 defeat to Boks
The only change sees a fit-again Eben Etzebeth move onto to the bench in place of Lood de Jager.
Erasmus, who throughout the week has stressed the fact that Wales will be a formidable opponent on Saturday, wants South Africa to end their tour with a win over a team that has won their last three Tests against the Springboks.
“Wales have a formidable squad and their current run of eight unbeaten Tests is proof and also an indication of their good form at the moment,” said Erasmus.
“As I’ve said before, we know Saturday’s Test is going to be our most difficult match of the tour.”
The two teams met earlier this season in a Test match in Washington DC, a game in which Wales snatched a 22-20 victory in the dying minutes of the match, something Erasmus was quick to point out.
“Wales defeated us in Washington in June and have now won the last three games against us,” said Erasmus.
“They are a well-balanced and strong side with a great home record so our boys will be in for a massive contest on Saturday.
“We will be desperate to win, and to end the tour on a high would be fantastic for the experience and growth of this squad.”
The Springboks are certainly a different team from the last time the two nations met and victory would mean a 75% success rate on their end of season tour, respectable considering the fact that they really should have beaten England at Twickenham.
The match kicks off at 19:20 (SA time).
Teams
Wales
15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Substitutes: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Owen Watkin
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Cheslin Kolbe
