Williams is seeking a 24th Grand Slam singles title to match Margaret Court's all-time record and will face either Belinda Bencic or Bianca Andreescu on Saturday in her bid for a record seventh US Open triumph.
Steve Hansen is expecting opponents in Japan to employ rush defence in a bid to smother the All Blacks' attack and derail the New Zealanders' campaign for a third straight World Cup, and fourth overall.
Local fans were left high and dry on Wednesday after failing to secure tickets for the Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal Match In Africa 6 in Cape Town next February.
The Lions prop is replaced in the run-on 15 by Dylan Smith with Nathan McBeth coming onto the bench.
The cancellation comes on the back of Zambia also pulling out on a planned friendly they were due to play with South Africa on 7 September.
Abongile Nonkontwana and Gerhard Olivier switch places, with Oliver starting on number 6 flank.
Andreescu, a 19-year-old from suburban Toronto, downed 25th seed Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to book a Thursday clash against fellow Slam semifinal debutante Bencic, the Swiss 13th seed who beat Croatian 23rd seed Donna Vekic 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Out-of-favour Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to hold himself responsible if the club are not in the running for the Premier League title this season.
The 27-year-old replaces Jon-Jon Smuts who has been withdrawn from the tour after failing to meet the team’s fitness standards.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, along with the rest of the Bok squad, will be looking to banish the memories of the 2015 World Cup defeat to the same opposition in what was one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
