© Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Heyneke Meyer has unveiled South Africa's 31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup with Jean de Villiers confirmed as captain while Cobus Reinach and Heinrich Brussow miss out.

Both Reinach and Brussow featured during the recent Rugby Championship but Meyer has opted for Rudy Paige as one of three scrum-halves with Siya Kolisi preferred to Brussow in the back-row. There is also no place for winger Cornal Hendricks with Leinster's Zane Kirchner given the nod as a back three option. Utility back Frans Steyn, prop Vincent Koch and back-row Marcell Coetzee are also not included.

And Meyer has also included centre Jean de Villiers - who captains the team, back-row Duane Vermeulen, prop Coenie Oosthuizen and scrum-half Fourie du Preez despite the quartet previously struggling with injury. Bath's Francois Louw and Saracens' Schalk Brits also make the cut.

"The best medical scenarios were taken into consideration with the selection process. Our medical team have worked incredibly hard with these players and we're confident they will be ready to be considered to play Japan," said Meyer. "Although they have not been able to train fully with the rest of the squad at times, they have really worked hard on their fitness and all of them are incredibly fit, some of them in the best shape of their lives."

South Africa open their World Cup campaign against Japan on September 19 before then facing Samoa, Scotland and the USA.

"Every single player in our wider group worked incredibly hard and to cut the squad to 31 was probably the most difficult selection I've faced in my coaching career," said Meyer. "In the end, the selectors decided the 31 players named were the best we have at the moment but that is not to say any of the others won't have a role to play, with injuries a reality in our game.

"I think the squad has a great balance between youth and experience while keeping together the core of the team that did the country proud in the last few years. We also have a number of players who know what it takes to win a World Cup and their knowledge will be very valuable.

"We're going to England with the hopes of a nation on our shoulders and we would really like to make our country proud, but we're under no illusions about how tough it will be.

"The gap between all the nations playing in the tournament has shrunk over the years and this will probably be the closest World Cup yet. But the players have really worked very hard over the last two months and by time we get to Eastbourne for our first match, we'll hopefully be firing on all cylinders."

South Africa:

Front-rows: Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Jannie du Plessis, Frans Malherbe, Coenie Oosthuizen

Hookers: Bismarck du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Schalk Brits

Second-rows: Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Victor Matfield, Pieter-Steph du Toit

Back-rows: Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Burger, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Siya Kolisi

Half-backs: Fourie du Preez, Ruan Pienaar, Rudy Paige; Pat Lambie, Handré Pollard, Morné Steyn

Centres: Jean de Villiers, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende

Back three: Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo, Zane Kirchner, Willie le Roux