Heyneke Meyer has named the South Africa team to take on Wales at Twickenham in the World Cup quarter-final this weekend.

There is one change from the side that pummelled the USA in their final group game, with JP Pietersen returning to his spot on the wing in place of Lwazi Mvovo. There is no room for Victor Matfield, who Meyer confirmed had a hamstring strain.

“We were planning to use Victor from the bench to add even more experience to our replacements, but we’re also not prepared to risk him if he’s not ready. Luckily in Pieter-Steph du Toit we have another young player who has been performing very well and will slot in with ease,” said Meyer.

“We’ve seen first-hand how important it is to have experienced players on the field at the end of a match and to have this kind of experience available on the bench in a knock-out match is great,” said Meyer.

“Saturday’s match will be huge and we are expecting an arm wrestle right until the end. We’re playing against a well-balanced side that always likes to mix things up when it comes to physicality.

“They have a good set-piece and some strong ball carriers upfront and in the back – it’s what you expect to face at this stage of the competition and we’re very excited about the challenge.”

SOUTH AFRICA TEAM TO PLAY WALES

15. Willie le Roux (31 caps, 45 points)
14. JP Pietersen (63 caps, 110 points)
13. Jesse Kriel (8 caps, 15 points)
12. Damian De Allende (10 caps, 5 points)
11. Bryan Habana (114 caps, 320 points)
10. Handré Pollard (17 caps, 141 points)
9. Fourie du Preez (captain) (74 caps, 75 points)
8. Duane Vermeulen (32 caps, 10 points)
7. Schalk Burger (vice-captain) (83 caps, 80 points)
6. Francois Louw (40 caps, 40 points)
5. Lood de Jager (16 caps, 20 points)
4. Eben Etzebeth (41 caps, 5 points)
3. Frans Malherbe (9 caps, 0 points)
2. Bismarck du Plessis (76 caps, 55 points)
1. Tendai Mtawarira (72 caps, 10 points)

Replacements:
16. Adriaan Strauss (51 caps, 30 points)
17. Trevor Nyakane (20 caps, 5 points)
18. Jannie du Plessis (67 caps, 5 points)
19. Pieter-Steph du Toit (7 caps, 0 points)
20. Willem Alberts (35 caps, 35 points)
21. Ruan Pienaar (87 caps, 135 points)
22. Pat Lambie (47 caps, 131 points)
23. Jan Serfontein (23 caps, 10 points)

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images