Much-needed boost as Wales reveal team for Bok showdown
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Head coach Steve Tandy has named the Wales team to face South Africa on Saturday in their fourth and final Nations Series match this November at Principality Stadium.
Aaron Wainwright returns for Wales at No.8, having been withdrawn from the starting XV last week due to injury.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 scrumhalf and Dan Edwards is at flyhalf. Joe Roberts, who was called up for Wales last week, partners Joe Hawkins in the midfield.
Blair Murray continues at fullback 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: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Keiron Assiratti,
2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Christian Coleman, 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Thomas.
Date: Saturday, November 29
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 15.10 (17.10 SA time, 15.10 GMT)
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England) and Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
