In 103 years of rugby internationals between the Springboks and Wales, the Red Dragons have breathed fatal fire on the Boks on just one occasion and, barring a minor miracle, Wales' dismal record of 20 defeats in 22 games is about to sink to 21 from 23 (there was a 6-6 draw in Cardiff in 1970 to go with the Boks' 1999 loss in Cardiff).
It is not a case of Wales being a weak team. They are at home and have a stronger combination than the one that almost beat the Boks in Pretoria in June. It is more a case of them being up against a very strong Springbok side that appears to be highly focused and extremely motivated.
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We are talking about most of the match 22 that won the Rugby World Cup final versus the team that did not make it out of the Pool stages, and while Wales have certainly improved since France '07 under pugnacious Kiwi coach Warren Gatland, it is doubtful they have closed the gap entirely.
Wales were supposed to meet the Boks in the World Cup quarter-final in Marseilles only for Fiji to tear up the script, and when the teams met after the World Cup in Cardiff, Wales were hammered 34-12 by the newly crowned champions.
Then, in the first of two meetings in June, Wales did an impersonation of stunned mullets in Bloemfontein when they got a 43-17 hiding before improving to a 37-21 defeat in Pretoria against a Bok team that had taken its foot off the gas.
Coach Peter de Villiers initially spoke about resting players for this tour until it was whispered in his ear that these three tour matches are all that stand between the Boks and the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in June.
And now we not only have a Springbok squad at its very strongest but also in a frame of mind very much at odds with the zombies we usually see staggering though the Northern Hemisphere at this time of the year, with the players accused of having one foot on the plane home when they never took their feet out of the arriving plane.
It seems there is nothing quite like the threat of the British Lions to energise a Springbok team. And what a Springbok team this is. With a pack of forwards like this, the Springboks should never lose a Test match.
Mobility
Of the pack that played in the Rugby World Cup final, Beast Mtwarira replaces Os du Randt at loosehead and what Beast gives away to Os in terms of experience, he makes up for in mobility and energy; at tighthead and hooker, CJ van der Linde and John Smit give way to Smit and Bismarck du Plessis, with the latter combination potentially much stronger than the former.
Otherwise, it is the World Cup pack bar Pierre Spies replacing Danie Rossouw at No 8. Spies is the one player in the pack who needs to justify his selection. It is really time he did something other than look like a wing (which he is) lost among the forwards.
The backline is curious because of the fact that the Rugby World Cup midfield of Francois Steyn and Jaque Fourie is on the bench and deservedly so. Jean de Villiers and Adrian Jacobs have done the business this season.
They are the in-form duo but they know that they cannot slack for a minute because there are some
hungry fellows anxious to reclaim their jerseys.
Also on the bench, apart from Steyn and Fourie, are lively players in Ryan Kankowski (who scored a try on his Test debut on this same ground last November) and Gurthro Steenkamp, Andries Bekker and Ricky Januarie.
This is a very good Springbok 22. They really ought not to lose to Wales. Bottom line.
Gatland boosts Henson's ego: Page 22
- This article was originally published on page 20 of Daily News on November 07, 2008
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