Eben Etzebeth has at long last recovered from a calf injury, but he will have to be content with a place on the bench for the Springboks in Saturday’s clash against Wales in Cardiff.
Etzebeth had to be replaced during the 12-11 defeat to England in the first Test of the November tour of Europe.
While it was initially thought that he may head home, the Stormers No 4’s injury wasn’t as bad as originally feared.
There was hope that he would face France, and then Scotland, but he sat out both matches in Paris and Edinburgh respectively.
But the impressive form of RG Snyman and Franco Mostert has seen coach Rassie Erasmus resist the temptation to change the lock pairing, so Etzebeth will be among the substitutes.
Other than that, Erasmus has kept faith with the match-23 that have won the last two Tests, in the hope that they can make it three in a row at the Principality Stadium on Saturday (7.20pm kickoff).
Springbok Team
15 Willie le Roux 14 Sbu Nkosi 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi 10 Handré Pollard 9 Embrose Papier 8 Duane Vermeulen 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 Franco Mostert 4 RG Snyman 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Malcolm Marx 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Bench:16 Bongi Mbonambi 17 Thomas du Toit 18 Vincent Koch 19 Eben Etzebeth 20 Francois Louw 21 Ivan van Zyl 22 Elton Jantjies 23 Cheslin Kolbe.
An unchanged Springbok starting side will take on @WelshRugbyUnion in the final Test of the 2018 season, in Cardiff on Saturday. The only change is on the bench, where @EbenEtzebeth comes in for @LooD_Jager. #boksontour #loverugby @CastleLagerSA @ASICS_ZA @MTNza pic.twitter.com/XYzXJebpiE
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) November 22, 2018
@ashfakmohamed