Wales coach Steven Tandy counting on crowd support to stem Springbok tide

Wales coach Steve Tandy is counting on the fanatical support of the Welsh crowd at the Principality Stadium to help his team curb the all-conquering Springboks on Saturday afternoon.

Tandy took over as head coach at the beginning of November and has seen his team lose 52-28 to Argentina, beat Japan 24-23 with a last-minute penalty goal, and last week lose 52-26 to New Zealand.

Wales have won just two of their last 20 Test matches — both against struggling Japan — but Tandy is optimistic that the team have turned a corner.

“What we want to see from the boys against the Springboks is the same effort and performance as last weekend against the All Blacks,” Tandy said. “We showed a lot of attacking intent, a lot of toughness in the way we went about our defence. That gave the supporters something to shout about.

“The fans at the weekend were amazing,” the coach enthused. “I think the boys really responded to how good the support was. It's just unbelievable when you feel the electric charge around the stadium, in and around when we score. And also when we're going deep into a defensive set, and the fans are chanting ‘Wales’…

“I'd like to thank the fans for all the support they've given the boys,” Tandy continued. We’re going into the last game, which we're all excited about. The players love playing at the Principality Stadium in front of the best support in the world.”

Tandy has named a team that sees the return of the experienced Aaron Wainwright at No 8 after he had to withdraw from the starting XV last week due to injury. Taine Plumtree is named at blindside flanker, and Alex Mann is at openside flank.

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 is 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 full back 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.

Wales team to play South Africa

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.

Bench: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Thomas.