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Biggar recovers as Wales name team for decider with Springboks
By PA
Wales captain Dan Biggar has recovered from a shoulder injury and will start Saturday’s Test series decider against South Africa in Cape Town.
Biggar went off early in the second half of Wales’ 13-12 second Test victory last weekend and was replaced by Gareth Anscombe, but he retains his starting place.
In a second boost for Wales head coach Wayne Pivac, prop Dillon Lewis has shaken off an elbow injury and also features.
One change from the Bloemfontein success see wing Josh Adams replace Alex Cuthbert, who has has flown home due to a shoulder problem.
Biggar, Lewis and Cuthbert were all hurt during the game in Bloemfontein as Wales claimed a first victory over the Springboks on South African soil.
But Pivac has been able to select the team that started the first Test 12 days ago when Wales were beaten 32-29 by a late Damian Willemse penalty in Pretoria.
Elsewhere, centre George North will become the most capped back in Wales men’s international rugby history, making his 105th appearance and moving above Stephen Jones.
"Most people had written us off before we left Wales and to be in this position with an opportunity to win this series it’s a great position for us to be in. It’s fantastic that there’s something to play for in this Test match," said head coach Wayne Pivac.
"However it’s been a tough training week because we’ve been a bit banged up as you’d expect after two very physical Test matches. So to have the majority of the squad that we arrived on these shores with available is a pretty good state to be in and we are really looking forward to the weekend.
"The atmosphere on match day has been excellent. South African fans are very loud, they support their side and they let you know what they are thinking of the occasion. It’s an environment that tests you and the players have so far stood up in both matches.
"We’re looking forward to another full house and another crowd that really gets behind the occasion and makes it a special one."
WALES TEAM VS SOUTH AFRICA 3RD TEST
15. Liam Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 80 caps)
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby – 18 caps)
13. George North (Ospreys – 104 caps)
12. Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 22 caps)
11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 41 caps)
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints – 102 caps), captain
9. Kieran Hardy (Scarlets – 13 caps)
1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 12 caps)
2. Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 29 caps)
3. Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby – 40 caps)
4. Will Rowlands (Dragons – 20 caps)
5. Adam Beard (Ospreys – 36 caps)
6. Dan Lydiate (Ospreys – 67 caps)
7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 2 caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff Rugby – 91 caps)
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 7 caps)
17. Wyn Jones (Scarlets – 44 caps)
18. Sam Wainwright (Saracens – 1 cap)
19. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys – 152 caps)
20. Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby – 32 caps)
21. Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 35 caps)
22. Gareth Anscombe (Ospreys – 32 caps)
23. Owen Watkin (Ospreys – 32 caps)
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Latest Comments
Thats exactly the criticism Ed, that it has already been done for generations. A strong SA, in many respects, should certainly help African rugby develop. You'd have to think they'd acclimatize much better being drawn to a pro SA club than say a European. Hopefully the fact theyve gone private (is that right Graham?) should enable this sort of change.
Go to commentsPerofeta came back and was available for the eoyt right? Or was that why Love was in the squad (but got injured in the last week)?
It was such a frustrating year. Perofeta looked a service stop gap until Jordan was fit, but then got injured. Plummer was selected because of Pero's injury and dmac shat the bed in the second half in Australia but Clarke (?) got himself binned at the 65 min mark so Plummer couldn't come on (at least with the risk adverse Razors thinking) when he was planned to.
So many other exciting opportunities that could have happened without injuries, but then theyre probably balanced by knowing Sititi probably wouldn't have been given a chance without multiple injuries happened.
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