Former prop Adam Jones says Wales will take encouragement from the number of changes Jacques Nienaber has made to the Springbok starting lineup for the second Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Nienaber named two uncapped players in his starting XV and a further four among the replacements as he reshuffled his squad to build depth for the second Test against Wales at Free State Stadium.
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Only Eben Etzebeth has kept his place from the starting lineup that needed a penalty from Damian Willemse after the hooter to claim a 32-29 win in the series opener in Pretoria.
Speaking to WalesOnline, Jones, who faced the Springboks for both Wales and the British & Irish Lions, backed Wales to reproduce the performance with which the visitors unsettled the Boks at Loftus Versfeld.
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“This Welsh team won’t have put all their eggs in one basket here. They’ll be ready for another crack at them. I don’t think it’ll be a one-off performance. We’ve got an opportunity to beat them with such a changed side,” said Jones.
“Wales won’t be thinking, ‘Oh God, here they come again’ with that many changes. I think we can take them on.”
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Wales are facing a conundrum of their own after tighthead prop Tomos Francis was ruled out of the rest of the series due to a concussion he suffered in the first Test.
This has left Wayne Pivac looking at blooding a rookie in either Saracens’ Sam Wainwright or Scarlets’ Harri O’Connor against Thomas du Toit on Saturday.
“It’s obviously tough,” Jones admitted. “I don’t know much about O’Connor but I’ve coached against Wainwright in Premiership Cup and A-League games with Saracens.
“I’ve paid a bit of attention to him to see what he offers. He’s a big, solid kid. The big benefit is that he trains with Vincent Koch, Mako Vunipola and Jamie George every day. Top-class props and hookers. Doing scrum training against Maro Itoje and Nick Isiekwe will stand him in good stead.
“O’Connor will be well coached by Ben Franks at the Scarlets. He’s very technical. They’re both young men who want to work hard.
“Whoever gets the nod will have a great opportunity to have a crack. The loosehead on the bench for South Africa is a young lad. I saw the try he scored the other day which puts most props to shame. Their pack might take a bit of time to bed in, but it’s a South Africa pack at altitude.
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Photo: Stephen White – CameraSport via Getty Images
