Head coach Steve Tandy has named the Wales team to play South Africa on Saturday 29 November in their fourth and final Quilter Nations Series match this November at Principality Stadium (KO 3.10pm GMT. Live on TNT Sports, discovery+ and S4C).
Aaron Wainwright returns for Wales at No. 8 having been withdrawn from the starting XV last week due to injury. Taine Plumtree is named at blindside flanker and Alex Mann is at openside flanker.
Ben Carter and Rhys Davies pair up in the second row, with both players making their first appearances for Wales this autumn.
In the front row, Gareth Thomas starts at loosehead prop, Keiron Assiratti starts at tighthead prop and captain Dewi Lake is named at hooker.
Kieran Hardy is selected at scrum-half and Dan Edwards is at fly-half.
Joe Roberts, who was called up for Wales last week, partners Joe Hawkins in the midfield.
Blair Murray continues at full back with Rio Dyer and Ellis Mee, who joined the Wales squad on Monday, selected on the wings.
Among the replacements, loosehead prop Danny Southworth is in line to make his Wales debut on Saturday with an appearance from the bench. Brodie Coghlan provides cover at hooker and Christian Coleman provides cover at tighthead prop. James Ratti and Morgan Morse are the other forward replacements.
Reuben Morgan-Williams, Callum Sheedy and Ben Thomas are selected as Wales’ back-line replacements for this match.
Tandy said: “What we want to see from the boys [on Saturday] is the same type of effort and performance as we did last weekend. I think we showed a lot of attacking intent, a lot of toughness in the way we went about lots of the defensive effort as well, to give the supporters something to shout about.
“The fans on the weekend were electric. I think the boys really responded to how good the support was. When you see the charge, in and around when we score, but also when we’re going deep into the defensive set, when they’re chanting ‘Wales’, it’s just something that’s unbelievable and I’d like to thank them for all the support they’ve given the boys. We’re going into the last game, which we’re all excited about. The players love the fact of playing at Principality Stadium in front of the best support in the world.”
On Danny Southworth being in line to make his debut Tandy added: “What’s impressed me about Danny, first of all, was his performances for Cardiff at the start of the year, and then coming into the campaign the way he’s adapted to the detail, the way he’s fitted into the group and brings an energy, but he’s also a quality player too.”
Wales team v South Africa – Quilter Nations Series
15. Blair Murray (Scarlets – 13 caps)
14. Ellis Mee (Scarlets – 3 caps)
13. Joe Roberts (Scarlets – 6 caps)
12. Joe Hawkins (Scarlets – 6 caps)
11. Rio Dyer (Dragons – 23 caps)
10. Dan Edwards (Ospreys – 6 caps)
9. Kieran Hardy (Ospreys – 27 caps)
1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 43 caps)
2. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 25 caps) captain
3. Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 18 caps)
4. Ben Carter (Dragons – 13 caps)
5. Rhys Davies (Ospreys – 3 caps)
6. Taine Plumtree (Scarlets – 10 caps)
7. Alex Mann (Cardiff Rugby – 10 caps)
8. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 61 caps)
Replacements:
16. Brodie Coghlan (Dragons – 1 cap)
17. Danny Southworth (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
18. Christian Coleman (Dragons – 1 cap)
19. James Ratti (Ospreys – 3 caps)
20. Morgan Morse (Ospreys – 1 cap)
21. Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys – 1 cap)
22. Callum Sheedy (Cardiff Rugby – 16 caps)
23. Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby – 16 caps)
Dropkick
The longest cricket match took place in 1939 between England and South Africa.
Shay
Sport Trivia: Who was the first cricket umpire to officiate in 200 ODIs? Answer: Rudi Koertzen. Rudi Koertzen officiated his 200th ODI on 11th July 2009. He went on to stand in 206 ODIs, as well as 108 tests, and 14 T20s. His way of dismissing batsmen, by slowly raising his finger, gave him the nickname of \”slow death\”.