The Springboks have made a handful of changes for their season-ending Test against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday and this will see the Hendrikse brothers starting together for the first time, while the exciting and versatile Cameron Delport will be on the bench.

The Sharks duo of Jordan and Jaden Hendrikse will not only start in a Test for South Africa for the first time together, but they will also form the halfback combination. Jordan will start at flyhalf, while Jaden will provide service from the back of the scrum at scrumhalf.

Aphelele Fassi returns to start at fullback in the only other change to the backline. He was the starting player in the last line of defence during the 32-15 win against Scotland at Murrayfield.

Aphelele Fassi. Photo: Morgan Piek

Upfront, Ox Nche, will start at loosehead prop despite sustaining a cut above his knee during the 29-20 win against England, while Johan Grobbelaar will start at hooker for his first game on the End-of-Year tour, and Thomas du Toit takes over at tighthead prop.

Jean Kleyn of Munster will start at lock and he will for the second-row with Franco Mostert, while in the back-row, Elrigh Louw, is the only change and he dons the number seven jersey in the place of the World Rugby Player of the Year nominee, Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Delport of the Bulls has been named on the strong bench, and when he takes to the field in the Welsh capital city, he will be making his Springbok debut, and become the 12th debutant to be blooded in 2024.

While Wales is staring down the barrel of a 12th consecutive defeat, the Springbok coach, Rassie Erasmus, said it was important to pick a side that rotates players and also shows the necessary respect to their opponents.

“A lot can change in rugby with a change in confidence and mindset, and Australia is a perfect example of how things can change in the sport if one considers how well they are playing now compared to last year,” said Erasmus.

“So, we’ll show Wales the same respect we showed England and Scotland, and we know we know we have to be at our best to come out with the result we want.

“They are a team with everything to gain and nothing to lose, so it would be careless of us to think that we just need to pitch up and the result will go in our favour. A little over a year ago, they played in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final, which is a testament to the force they can be.”

Saturday’s Test at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff kicks off at 19:40.

Wales – TBA

Springboks – 15 Aphelele Fassie, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Ox Nche

Replacements – 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Handré Pollard

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh