Wales blindside flank Dan Lydiate will relish the physicality against the Springboks when the two teams clash in the series decider in Cape Town on Saturday.

Lydiate was phenomenal in the first two Tests with his unrelenting work rate and brutal tackling, playing a pivotal role in a historic win over the world champions in Bloemfontein last week.

Wayne Pivac’s men have an opportunity to create more history by becoming the first Wales side to win a Test series in the Republic.

However, the Welsh will know that victory is easier said than done with the Boks having selected a formidable side full of World Cup winners after a new-look lineup lost 13-12 at Free State Stadium. 

If Wales were to triumph in a blockbuster finale at Cape Town Stadium, Lydiate will have to deliver another destructive performance to thwart the South Africans’ strong ball-carriers. 

ALSO: Bullish Biggar to butt heads with Boks

“It [the physicality] does hurt, I am not going to lie,” the 33-year-old loose forward said. “But that is what I have been picked for years to try and be – physical.  

“It does take it out of you but if that’s what you are picked to do, that’s what I have to do. It’s all worth it. I have been sore for a few days after that Test last weekend but if we had lost, I would have been a lot more sore. 

“I am probably going to have to go a lot harder again this weekend because the Boks will be seething after that loss. They have got a lot of pressure with it being in their own backyard, so it will be tougher again this weekend.”

When Lydiate damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in the Six Nations opener for Wales against Ireland in February 2021, many feared the worst. 

So, the joy he and his teammates felt after Gareth Anscombe landed the winning conversion in Bloem reflected the sacrifices he made to get back to the top: “If you could bottle that feeling and sell, it you would not have to work again.

“It is hard to put into words, until you are in that moment. It is not just that moment in time, it’s what you have worked for as a kid with all those sessions you have done that nobody has seen. 

“It’s every ounce of your being that you have put into your career and an instant reward as that final whistle goes. You can’t compare it to anything else.”

KEO: Begging the world champion Boks to pitch up in Cape Town