JP Pietersen returns to South Africa’s starting line-up for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Wales at Twickenham in London on Saturday.

Pietersen – who scored a hat-trick against Samoa in the second pool match – is included in the only change to the starting team that beat the USA by 64-0 in the Boks’ final Pool B match, last Wednesday at the Olympic Stadium.

The 63-capped wing, who has recovered from a knee injury which kept him out of the USA Test, will wear the No 14 jersey and Bryan Habana will revert to the left-wing for this encounter. It will be the 42nd time they play together as a wing-combination in the Springboks’ starting team.

Habana currently leads the try-scoring stakes at the World Cup with five, while Pietersen is joint second with four, a position he shares with five other players.

“JP and Bryan have been in superb form and are playing some of the best rugby of their lives,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

“They have been scoring some wonderful tries, as has Lwazi Mvovo, so it’s really great to know that there is good competition among the wings.

“It made sense to reunite Bryan and JP on the wing as it brings a lot of experience to our backline, which has been doing well despite the relative inexperience of Handré Pollard, Damian De Allende and Jesse Kriel.”

The Springbok bench shows four changes from the last match. The experienced quartet of Adriaan Strauss, Jannie du Plessis, Ruan Pienaar and Pat Lambie are all back to give the South Africans a boost from the replacements’ bench.

Veteran lock Victor Matfield misses out because of a hamstring twinge.

South Africa: W le Roux, JP Pietersen, J Kriel, D De Allende, B Habana, H Pollard, F du Preez (captain), T Mtawarira, B du Plessis, F Malherbe, E Etzebeth, L de Jager, F Louw, S Burger, D Vermeulen. Replacements: A Strauss, T Nyakane, J du Plessis, P du Toit, W Alberta, R Pienaar, P Lambie, J Serfontein