The Springboks are preparing themselves for one final push at the end of a long season when they try to arrest a run of three successive defeats against Wales in Cardiff this weekend.
Until 2014 the Welsh Dragons had only ever beaten the Boks once in 29 meetings but they’ve now won four of the last five‚ including the last three in a row. Three of those wins have been at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and the other was in Washington when coach Rassie Erasmus fielded 13 uncapped players in his first game in charge in June.
So it is little wonder Erasmus has described the fourth and final match of the November tour as the most difficult of the lot. Given how the other games on tour have gone‚ with six points or fewer in them‚ Wales must start as overwhelming favourites against a Bok side still being pieced together.
Last week’s 26-20 win over Scotland where the Boks hung on but were never behind‚ was in contrast to the previous week’s 29-26 victory over France in Paris. On that occasion the tourists needed to score in injury time to win.
Both performances showed something different in the Boks’ game and also highlighted their improvement.
Losing 12-11 to England on their tour opener was one that escaped considering SA’s first half dominance in that match that should have seen them out of sight by halftime.
But all these outings have added to the rugby IQ of the team and they are a better unit for it. Wales won’t discover a shambolic and unmotivated Bok team as they did in 2016 and 2017. But Wales have built an impressive seven-match unbeaten run at their homeground over the past year and are ranked third in the world.
Speaking in the Welsh capital on Monday afternoon‚ Erasmus was very clear on the challenge that awaits his Springbok side on Saturday.
“In our view‚ Wales are definitely the most difficult opponent we will face on this tour‚” emphasised Erasmus.
“Warren (Gatland) has managed to build a superb side with lots of experience‚ and they are playing a good‚ balanced game‚ plus they have good depth and quality in their squad.
“They put Tonga away last weekend and the previous week they defeated Australia‚ so we are preparing ourselves for the most difficult Test of this tour.”
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was also on Monday cleared of head-butting Scotland centre Peter Horne during the weekend’s win‚ although he was rapped over the knuckles for reckless play.
In the first half of the match‚ Kolisi appeared to throw his head backwards at Horne‚ who was holding him down and stopping the Bok skipper from returning to his feet to continue playing. Referee Romain Poite missed the incident in real time and there was no sanction on the field.
World Rugby confirmed that there would be no further action against Kolisi.
“Siya Kolisi (South Africa) has received a Citing Commissioner Warning from Citing Commissioner David Pelton (USA) for striking with the head (Law 9.12) during the 31st minute of the Scotland versus South Africa November Test at BT Murrayfield on 17 November‚” a World Rugby statement said.
“Having reviewed the video angles‚ the Citing Commissioner determined that there were mitigating factors which meant that the action did not meet the red card threshold.”..