South Africa welcome back key forwards Eben Etzebeth, Malcolm Marx and Warren Whiteley for Saturday's Rugby Championship opener against Argentina.
Etzebeth makes his first appearance since the defeat to Wales last December after recovering from the shoulder and back injuries that saw him miss the entire Super Rugby season.
Whiteley returns at No 8 following an injury-ravaged 12 months, partnering Bath's Francois Louw and skipper Siya Kolisi in the back row, while Marx is named at hooker after missing the series win over England due to hamstring surgery.
"Our forward depth is very good indeed and the competition for places in the team is healthy, which can only be a good thing for us as we continue to build the depth of our squad," said Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Former Munster coach Erasmus has opted for a half-back pairing of Handre Polland and Sale's Faf de Klerk, with Elton Jantjies dropped from the match-day 23.
Sharks centre Lukhanyo Am is preferred to Jesse Kriel in the midfield while uncapped duo Damian Willemse and Marco van Staden are named on the bench.
South Africa won both Rugby Championship games against Argentina last season but Erasmus believes the Pumas will be reinvigorated under new head coach Mario Ledesma.
"Their new coach comes with a lot of technical knowledge and experience from his previous coaching roles which is sure to add more firepower to their traditional strengths," said Erasmus.
"They will be very confident as a result of the Los Pumas' great run on tour in Australasia, where they won all four their matches on the road, as well as their winning performances against our own franchises."
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk; 1 Tendai Mtawarira, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Frans Malherbe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Peter-Steph duo Toit, 6 Francois Louw, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 8 Warren Whiteley.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Damian Willemse.