CARDIFF – Wing Alex Cuthbert and centre Johnny Williams return to the starting XV for Wales as they look to match South Africa’s physicality in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup warm-up clash in Cardiff, while loose-forward Taine Basham will be on the bench.
Basham was at the centre of controversy last weekend when he failed a head injury assessment after clattering into the shoulder of attempted tackler, England flyhalf Owen Farrell, though no symptoms of concussion were later found by the Wales medical team.
A stringent three stage protocol was followed and Basham was given the all-clear this week. Farrell, who has had problems with his tackle technique in the past, received a red card during the match, which was later surprisingly reduced to a yellow by an independent disciplinary committee.
Scrumhalf Kieran Hardy also gets a first start of the warm-up games and a chance to impress before coach Warren Gatland names his squad for the World Cup on Monday.
Hardy will have experienced flyhalf Dan Biggar alongside him, while Mason Grady partners Johnny Williams in the midfield. Liam Williams is at fullback, with Cuthbert and Rio Dyer on either wing.
Captain Jac Morgan and Dan Lydiate are the flankers, with Aaron Wainwright at number eight, and the duo of Ben Carter and Will Rowlands in the second row. Elliot Dee is the starting hooker with rookie props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti either side of him.
“We’re really pleased with the whole squad. We’re trying to build some depth within the team and there’s been a great atmosphere,” Gatland said.
“In the first couple of games what was really pleasing for me was the physicality we brought and the way we defended. There are still things for us to work on in terms of being much more accurate.
“We’re expecting confidence and physicality from South Africa. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. We just need to make sure we play for 80 minutes and are accurate for 80 minutes.”
Wales beat England 20-9 in Cardiff 11 days ago, and narrowly lost the return at Twickenham 19-17 on Saturday.
Wales team: 15-Liam Williams, 14-Alex Cuthbert, 13-Mason Grady, 12-Johnny Williams, 11-Rio Dyer, 10-Dan Biggar, 9-Kieran Hardy, 1-Corey Domachowski, 2-Elliot Dee, 3-Keiron Assiratti, 4-Ben Carter, 5-Will Rowlands, 6-Dan Lydiate, 7-Jac Morgan (captain), 8-Aaron Wainwright
Replacements: 16-Sam Parry, 17-Nicky Smith, 18-Henry Thomas, 19-Teddy Williams, 20-Taine Basham, 21-Tomos Williams, 22-Max Llewellyn, 23-Cai Evans
(Reporting by Nick Said)
