Wales head coach Steve Tandy has made six changes to his starting XV for Saturday's Test against world champions South Africa in Durban, with a new midfield partnership and a debut start for lock Freddie Thomas, who faces a baptism of fire after flying in on Monday.
Midfield reshuffle and backline changes
Tandy opted to replace the centre pairing of Joe Hawkins and Eddie James with Max Llewellyn and Ben Thomas. "I think it's a bit of freshness in the centres. I thought the combination of Joe and Eddie has been excellent for us, but we feel Max and Ben deserve an opportunity," Tandy said. "Max did really well for us in the autumn, unfortunately got injured, and then Ben has responded really well since being left out from the England game."
Louis Rees-Zammit returns to the wing in place of Ellis Mee. "It's just making those changes. I thought Ellis was good at the weekend as well. I think he's really developing into an excellent international player. But again, like we said last week, it's about moving things around and freshening up as there's lots of travel," Tandy explained.
Pack rotation and injury updates
In the back row, Alex Mann starts after missing last week, with Manny and Jim Botham providing cover. "I think with the back-row, we feel we've got depth there. Manny was excellent against Fiji, but he hadn't played a lot of minutes. And then obviously with travel and Jim Botham played really well off the bench against Fiji. So we've got a good opportunity to freshen up the pack," Tandy said.
Teddy Williams makes his first Wales Test start in a year after recovering from a horrific injury. "It's brilliant for Teddy, how hard he's worked and obviously it was a horrific injury. The way he's come back, he hasn't played for Cardiff, but the way he's trained and then played against the Barbarians. I thought he had a real impact when he came off the bench on the weekend, so it's pleasing and thoroughly well deserved."
Ben Carter was ruled out due to an ankle injury sustained in training. "Ben unfortunately was injured in training. He hurt his ankle yesterday, so he would have been in contention for selection before that. He's been fantastic for us since he's come in for the Scotland game," Tandy confirmed.
Freddie Thomas' rapid rise
Freddie Thomas, who was unlucky to miss the initial 33-man squad, has been called up and will start. "It's a baptism of fire for Freddie! But he was unlucky not to be in the 33. He's come in, trained well and it's a great opportunity for him on the weekend," Tandy said.
The coach opted for a 6-2 split on the bench to ensure added freshness in the pack. "It's the back-end of the season for us. We had a physical encounter last week, with lots of travel. It's definitely going to be a physical encounter on the weekend, so it's making sure we've got freshness to come off the bench and add a lot of energy and physicality."
Dewi Lake's leadership and South Africa challenge
Captain Dewi Lake is fit and starts at hooker. "He's a tough man and look, he's been brilliant for us in the way he's led the team. His performances have been excellent as well and he is at the forefront of everything we do," Tandy said.
On facing South Africa, Tandy said: "It's definitely going to be a physical encounter. You see the set-piece, you watch every breakdown, the physical piece, so it's going to be an awesome opportunity for us to pitch up against South Africa and test ourselves against the best team in the world in their own home."
He added: "It's probably the most physical team in the world you're going up against, we have to be mentally and physically prepared for that challenge. The boys have trained really well. We had a live training on Tuesday. Yesterday, they really worked hard, mentally preparing for that challenge."
