Matfield pulled out - Meyer

The Bok coach named his side earlier today with only one change made to the starting XV that beat USA last week.

JP Pietersen comes back into the starting lineup in place of Lwazi Mvovo, while Victor Matfield reportedly ruled himself out of selection. The veteran lock has been recovering from a hamstring strain and was expected to be fit for the quarterfinals.

"Victor was very close to selection, he trained with the team for the first two days but there was still some tightness and soreness in his hamstring. We just felt its an important game, we have to come through'it and we don't want to risk him for the long term," Meyer explained at the Bok team announcement on Wednesday.

"It's going to a grueling battle out there, very physical, an arm wrestle and you can't bring someone off the bench who is not 100 percent fit."

The Bok coach then hailed Matfield for pulling out of selection contention of his own accord.

"Victor is a professional, he came to me and said he probably wouldn't be able to give his best, he wanted to play but said it was better if he withdraws. Pieter-Steph has come in and he has played really well in the last three games. It's tough losing both captains, especially Victor for this game - Wales are really good at lineout time."

"But the youngsters have done well and we are going to back them. They've learned a lot from Victor and the type of rugby they're (Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth) playing is awesome, they're probably two of the best locks at the moment. It's a bit setback but we still have very good locks," the coach said.

The Boks face Wales at 17h00 on Saturday.

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