Captain John Smit wins his 50th cap at hooker in a strong pack, with only first-choice loose-head Os du Randt rested, Lawrence Sephaka starting. With Wales so depleted by injuries, Springbok coach Jake White had been expected to experiment ahead of next week’s Test with France. But other than at half-back and loose-head he has kept change to a minimum, the lethal Bryan Habana starting at wing and Percy Montgomery getting the chance to use his experience of Welsh conditions at full-back.
“We’ve got two fly-halves out and two scrum-halves out, so we’ve got a new half-back combination which is untested,” said South Africa Coach Jake White said. “But it’s an opportunity for players to put their hands up, so we hope this tour will bring out one or two youngsters and help us prepare for the 2007 World Cup.”
Despite Wales’ heavy loss to New Zealand and the last-gasp win over Fiji, White is taking nothing for granted.
“We won’t read too much into the Fijian game and we all know that if you get it wrong against the All Blacks and they turn it on they can whack you,” he added. “We have huge respect for Welsh rugby. They’ve got great traditions and it’s a rugby-mad country.
“We enjoy that when we come here because they’re passionate about the way they play the game and it brings out the best from both nations.”
South Africa:
15 Percy Montgomery
14 Conrad Jantjes
13 Jaque Fourie
12 Jean de Villiers
11 Bryan Habana
10 Meyer Bosman
09 Michael Claassens
01 Lawrence Sephaka
02 John Smit (capt)
03 CJ van der Linde
04 Bakkies Botha
05 Victor Matfield
06 Schalk Burger
07 Juan Smith
08 Jacques Cronje
Replacements:
16 Hanyani Shimange
17 Os du Randt
18 Albert van den Berg
19 Danie Rossouw
20 Bolla Conradie
21 De Wet Barry
22 Brent Russell
