Captain Jean de Villiers has made his expected return to the South Africa side for Saturday's World Cup opener against Japan.

In one of six changes from the team that beat Argentina last month, De Villiers returns at inside centre to hand a boost to the Springboks ahead of the game in Brighton.

Head coach Heyneke Meyer has named the most experienced side in South Africa's history, with a total of 880 Test caps being shared by the 15 players.

"We've decided to go with some form of continuity as it's important to get a good start in the tournament, but we also wanted to bring back a number of players who have recently recovered from injury," Meyer told reporters.

Lock Lood de Jager and prop Jannie du Plessis both return from injury, while Francois Louw is also handed a recall.

South Africa: Kirchner; Mvovo, Kriel, De Villiers (capt), Habana; Lambie, Pienaar; Burger, Alberts, Louw, Matfield, De Jager, Jan du Plessis, B du Plessis, Mtawarira

Replacements: Strauss, Nyakane, Oosthuizen, Du Toit, Kolisi, Du Preez, Pollard, Pietersen