Captain Dan Biggar says a heavily changed Springbok lineup featuring several ‘in-form’ players has made Wales more cautious of the challenge they will face in Bloemfontein on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
Nienaber’s decision to overhaul almost the entire Bok starting lineup for the second match of the three-Test series has come in for heavy criticism from the United Kingdom, with former Welsh great Gareth Edwards labelling it ‘disrespectful’, while journalist Matthew Southcombe wrote that it “devalues the Test series”.
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When asked during a media conference on Thursday whether he agreed that a team captained by opposite number Handre Pollard would be easier to play against, Wales skipper Biggar was frank in his response.
“Not at all. Look at the players that they picked. You would almost say that they are the real current in-form players,” said Biggar. “The side that we played last weekend are renowned, experienced World Cup winners.
“You have Pollard at 10, who is going to do better as well. They have got some real, exciting in-form players. When I saw that they made 14 changes, I was thinking about who they were bringing in. Then you look at the team sheet, I don’t expect this to be anything other than an incredibly tough game on Saturday.
“We make changes every autumn, when we play Georgia or Fiji,” added Biggar. “There is nothing in it, for me. South Africa has got their pick of the lot, so they will be very strong.
“I really, really believe the team we are playing on Saturday is a team which is a bit more match-sharp because they have been playing more. You look at [Andre] Esterhuizen at 12, who is probably the form player in the Premiership. Switching [Damian] De Allende out for Esterhuizen certainly doesn’t weaken them.
“There are a lot of changes, but I honestly don’t believe many of them weaken the side. From our point of view, we are almost warier, because we know more about the likes of [Lukhanyo] Am, De Allende, [Cheslin] Kolbe and [Makazole] Mapimpi. So, we are probably a bit more cautious this week, aware that they are in-form.”
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Wales coach Wayne Pivac says the number of changes to the Bok lineup makes it difficult to predict what gameplan the hosts will employ at Free State Stadium.
“There’s a lot of players who haven’t played together, so for us it’s about focusing on ourselves and that comes down to discipline for us. If you can get the result by using the whole squad, you’re in a strong place.
“We know the team we’re playing will be full of enthusiasm. We’re expecting a SA team full of ambition and intensity. They’re coming to win a Test match.
“We’ve probably had a few more days to prepare than that particular backline. But they’ve got experience in there and a world-class 10 dropping back in. We haven’t focused on individuals, but our own performance. At 18-3 up, we felt we should have won. We can’t gauge the SA team, so it is about getting our house in order.”
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
