Wales v South Africa

Prince William Cup
Venue: Millennium Stadium Date: Saturday, 13 November Kick-off: 1430 GMT
Coverage: Watch live on BBC One; listen on Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 5 live; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles

MATCH PREVIEW

Bruised by four successive defeats and kicked while they are down by the Wallabies, Wales would be wise to heed the words inscribed on the trophy given to the winner of this fixture: "The greatest glory in living lies not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Teenager George North will make his Wales debut on the wing

Nelson Mandela's famous quote about overcoming adversity ought to stir a Welsh side frustrated by eight defeats in 10 matches. They dominated up front against Australia last weekend, but individual errors were punished.

South Africa are likely to pose a more physical, direct threat and Wales coach Warren Gatland has beefed up his back line with 6ft 4in boy mountain George North, predictably labelled the Welsh Jonah Lomu.

North, aged 18, has only played seven senior games, and so could be the unlikeliest of heroes as Wales seek a rare win over the Springboks.

Five months ago, Wales led 16-3 in this fixture, only to lose by three points despite a stirring late rally. It was South Africa's 13th win in 15 trips to face Wales, with the visitors' only defeat coming at the Millennium Stadium's inaugural Test in 1999.

606: DEBATE Have your say: can Wales defeat the world champions?

However, world champions South Africa are not faring much better than Wales this year. They had a poor Tri-Nations and have already lost five matches, their worst record in a calendar year since 2006.

But their 23-21 victory in Dublin last weekend saw the injury-ravaged Springboks keep alive hopes of a first grand slam of victories against the four British and Irish national teams for half a century.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Wales' only win over South Africa in 24 attempts was by 29-19 at the Millennium Stadium in June 1999.

• South Africa have won the subsequent 11 meetings.

• Only five points are needed to reach 1,000 points in Test matches between Wales and South Africa in what will be the 25th game.

Wales

• A fifth consecutive defeat would represent Wales' longest losing streak since November 2006-March 2007.

• They have lost eight of their last 10 Tests.

• The 21-18 win over Australia in 2008 is their only success against Tri-Nations opponents in 10 matches under Warren Gatland.

South Africa

• They have won 14 out of 17 matches against northern hemisphere opposition under coach Peter de Villiers, including the last five.

• The Springboks can go second in the rankings if they win and Australia lose to England.

• Victor Matfield will become the most capped player in South African Test history with 103 appearances.

TEAM LINE-UPS

Wales: 15-Byrne; 14-North, 13-Shanklin, 12-Hook, 11-S Williams; 10-S Jones, 9-Phillips; 1-Jenkins, 2-M Rees, 3-A Jones, 4-Davies, 5-A W Jones, 6-Lydiate, 7-M Williams, 8-Thomas

Replacements: 16-Bennett, 17-James, 18-R Jones, 19-Powell, 20-R Rees, 21-Bishop, 22-Czekaj

South Africa: 15-Aplon; 14-Basson, 13-F Steyn, 12-de Villiers, 11- Habana; 10-M Steyn, 9-Pienaar; 1-Mtawarira, 2-du Plessis, 3-du Plessis, 4-Botha, 5-Matfield, 6-Stegmann, 7-Smith, 8-Spies.

Replacements: 16-Ralepelle, 17-van der Linde, 18-van der Merwe, 19-Alberts, 20-Hougaard, 21-Kirchner, 22-Lambie

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

Touch judges: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand) & Stuart Terheege (England)

TV official: Graham Hughes (England)

ONES TO WATCH

FRANCOIS STEYN (South Africa) Centre, aged 23 Starts at centre for first time since 2008 loss to Australia Youngest ever World Cup winner, aged 19 Recently threatened to sit out 2011 tournament, citing a lack of respect by coach Peter de Villiers in cancelling several meetings

LEE BYRNE (Wales) Full back, aged 30 Has made swift recovery from a fractured right hand suffered against Glasgow last month Played in the first Test of 2009 Lions tour against South Africa This is his fourth Test against the Springboks for Wales; he has yet to score