Bismarck back for Boks

The Springboks have made five changes to their starting XV for Saturday's match against Wales in Cardiff.

Tendai Mtawarira and Bismarck du Plessis's selections are rotational, while Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks and Lwazi Mvovo's were required because Johan Goosen, Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen are not available this week.

Adriaan Strauss, who started at hooker in the victories over England and Italy, moves to the bench, where he will be joined by Trevor Nyakane and Damian de Allende in the only other changes to the match 23.

As reported by SARugbymag.co.za on Tuesday, Pat Lambie has retained the No 10 jersey with Handré Pollard on the bench.

'This tour has been a good test of our depth and we’re looking forward to seeing what the team can do on Saturday,' said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

'We will face a fired-up Welsh side this weekend. They played very well against New Zealand and it will be a tough end to our season, but we want to finish on a high and the focus this week has been on ensuring we keep on building on what we’ve done thus far this year.

'All the players coming into the team have been part of our squad for most of the season. They know our plans and structures and now it’s about execution on Saturday.'

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende.

Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images

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