Wales suffer injury blow ahead of Springboks game

Wales prop Henry Thomas has been ruled out of Saturday’s match against world champions South Africa at Twickenham with a foot injury.

Cardiff tighthead Keiron Assiratti has been promoted off the bench to start, with Harri O’Connor named among the replacements, the Welsh Rugby Union said in a statement issued on Thursday.

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The Twickenham encounter will be the Springboks’ first match since they won a record fourth world title in France last year.

Kick-off is at 15:00 (SA time).

WALES WILL TOUR AUSTRALIA AFTER SPRINGBOK TEST

The South Africa fixture precedes Wales’ two-Test tour of Australia, with coach Warren Gatland due to finalise his 34-strong squad after the clash with the Springboks.

Gatland called former rugby league star Regan Grace into his wider squad on Thursday, with Ospreys wing Keelan Giles released after suffering a groin injury in training.

Grace, who has only played two senior games of union, could now face the Wallabies, with Wales playing Australia in Sydney on July 6 and in Melbourne seven days later, before taking on Queensland Reds on July 19.

Grace, who signed a contract with English Premiership club Bath in April, would not have been eligible to play South Africa.

That’s because the fixture falls outside World Rugby’s designated ‘summer’ international window, with English-based clubs under no obligation to release players for Wales duty.

The 27-year-old Grace scored 89 tries for Super League club St Helens during a league career that saw him feature in three Grand Final-winning teams.

Grace ruptured his Achilles tendon in August 2022 before joining Racing 92, but he did not feature for the French Top 14 rugby club after suffering an injury relapse six months later. The Welshman then joined Bath earlier this year.

REVISED TEAMS

South Africa

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Damian de Allende

Wales

15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Mason Grady, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan; 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Kieron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Gareth Thomas

Substitutes: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 James Ratti, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Eddie James, 23 Jacob Beetham

REFEREE / MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)