ROB Howley has no doubt that Wales are battle-hardened and ready for the latest punishing instalment of their demanding Rugby World Cup schedule on Saturday.

After facing England and Australia, games that were sandwiched by a bruising encounter against Fiji, Wales will now encounter arguably the most physical team of all - quarter-final opponents and twice world champions South Africa.

But Wales have kept coming back for more, despite losing almost a fifth of their original World Cup squad through injury.

Leigh Halfpenny, Scott Williams, Rhys Webb, Liam Williams, Hallam Amos and Cory Allen have all been ruled out at various stages, with Ospreys wing Eli Walker the latest player called up, although he will not be available for selection this week after recently shaking off an injury.

Wales have overcome considerable odds to reach the last eight for a second successive World Cup campaign, and Wales assistant coach Howley said: "Warren Gatland (Wales head coach) always had a saying at Wasps when I was playing under him, that we are battle-hardened.

"We've come through the last few weeks after really tough games against tier one nations, and Fiji cannot be underestimated - they were extremely physical and tough - and that gives us a really good platform.

"We have been playing at an intensity week in, week out, that will prepare us no end for what will come on Saturday.

"It's knockout football, a quarter-final to look forward to. If you had said to us six or eight weeks ago, 'would you take a quarter-final against South Africa?' Of course you would.

"Injuries are part and parcel of the game. We've had our fair few, but we keep on saying, the players that are available to us, we trust them and they are giving us 100 per cent."

While Wales lost 16 times on the bounce to South Africa between 2000 and 2014, recent history suggests they can go about their business with a quiet degree of confidence this week.

Wales were pipped by 31-30 by a late converted penalty try in Nelspruit last year, then they beat South Africa at the Millennium Stadium 11 months ago.

Howley added: "Having looked at South Africa over the last four or five weeks, the Japan loss refocused where they were at.

"In my experience, and the players' experience, every time we have played against South Africa it has been a very physical, attritional, uncompromising game, and it is going to be no different on Saturday.

"The day of the second Test against South Africa last year was unbelievable in terms of how we started that game. We went up by 14-0 then 17-0, and then we all know what happened in the last 10 minutes of that game.

"It gives you a lot of self-belief and confidence, because we were in their backyard."