South Africa vs. Wales - Kick-off time, team news, how to watch

South Africa will look to build on last week's Nations Championship win over Scotland. Getty

The Springboks - one of only three teams with a perfect Nations Championship record after two matches - will continue their campaign against Wales in Durban on Saturday.

By the time this match kicks off, at least one of New Zealand and Ireland will no longer have an unblemished slate, as the two other unbeaten teams in the Nations Championship will face off eight and a half hours prior.

Wales started their campaign with a 39-24 win over Fiji, but were brought back down to earth in a 35-21 loss to Argentina.

It has been a dismal cycle for the Red Dragons since the 2023 World Cup and they finished bottom of the Six Nations for the third year running this year. However, Rassie Erasmus praised their recent progress.

"Wales put up a good fight in their Six Nations matches against Scotland and Ireland, and they defeated Italy in their final match of the tournament," the Springbok head coach said.

"They also beat Fiji in the Nations Championship before going down against Argentina in a competitive match last week, so they are on the rise and will come out with a point to prove this weekend."

Key details

Date: Saturday, July 18 at 17:40 CAT (16:40 BST, 15:40 GMT)

Venue: Kings Park, Durban (currently known as HollywoodBets Kings Park)

How to watch: SuperSport are scheduled to air the game to South African viewers on DSTV channels 201 and 211. ITV holds Nations Championship rights in the UK, with games available on ITVX. S4C is set to air the game in Wales on free-to-air television.

Team news

Rassie Erasmus has included four uncapped players in his Springbok starting XV: Sharks winger Jaco Williams and flyhalf Vusi Moyo at their home stadium, as well as Montpellier lock Ruben van Heerden and prop Carlu Sadie.

There are plenty of experienced players to guide them through their Test debuts. Notably, inside centre Damian de Allende is set to earn his 99th cap and stand-in captain Pieter-Steph du Toit is in line for his 98th at flanker.

"We told the players from the start of the season that if everything played out well, we would give everyone in the squad a chance to play in the competition, and we are excited to see what the uncapped players, as well as those who have not been in the mix for a while, bring to the team," said Erasmus. "This squad shows an exciting mix of youth and experience, and while we are under no illusions about the threat Wales poses, we are looking forward to seeing what these players can do."

As per BBC Sport, Dewi Lake is set to miss the game for Wales with a groin injury.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Paul de Villiers 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Damian Willemse

Wales: TBC

Stats

The Springboks have won 10 Test matches in a row.

Wales have won 2 of their last 3 Test matches, but lost their first 4 this year before that.