Jones suffered an injury to his left thigh during the Scarlets’ defeat to Wasps at Stradey Park last weekend which has failed to recover in time for the inaugural Prince William Cup clash with the world champions.
Dragons fly half Sweeney featured in coach Nigel Davies’s preliminary training squad and is recalled to provide cover for the backs from the replacements bench against the Springboks.
“Ceri has been given a chance, its unfortunate that we will not have Stephen’s experience to rely on from the bench, but Ceri is a seasoned professional himself and will not let us down if called upon,” said Davies.
“He is probably the top kicker in Wales at the moment in terms of his accuracy and he can fit in at both fly-half and centre. With 34 caps to his name he has been an integral part of the Wales squad for some time now and we will have no hesitation in putting him on if necessary.
“His arrival in camp has had a positive impact already, he has an infectious personality and has been issuing positive vibes to those around him all morning.”
Ticket sales are going well for the inaugural Prince William Cup match between Wales and South Africa. If you want to be part of a very special occasion then tickets are available to Personal Callers only to the WRU Ticket Shop (98, St Mary Street, Cardiff), Thursday 9am-7pm, Friday 9am-7pm and on Saturday from 9am to kick off.
Tickets, priced at £20, £40, £45, £50 and £60 for this unique match against the reigning World Champions, will also be available on Saturday from the Cardiff Blues ticket office from 9am to kick off and from booths around the Millennium Stadium from 9am to kick off.
Wales: Morgan Stoddart; Mark Jones, Sonny Parker, Gavin Henson, Tom Shanklin; James Hook, Dwayne Peel; Jonathan Thomas, Robin Sowden-Taylor, Colin Charvis; Ian Evans, Alun-Wyn Jones; Rhys Thomas, Huw Bennett, Gethin Jenkins (Capt)
Replacements: T.R. Thomas, Duncan Jones, Luke Charteris, Alix Popham, Mike Phillips, Ceri Sweeney, Tom James
South Africa: Ruan Pienaar; J.P. Pietersen, Jaque Fourie, Francois Steyn, Bryan Habana; Andre Pretorius, Ricky Januarie; Ryan Kankowski, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger; Johann Muller, Bakkies Botha; Jannie Du Plessis, John Smit (Capt), C.J. van der Linde
Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Heinke van der Merwe, Albert van den Berg, Hilton Lobberts, Wynand Olivier, Conrad Jantjes, Akona Ndungane
