Wales ready to outlast Boks

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The Springboks can expect Wales to try and up the tempo during the July series after enduring a training camp geared at helping the tourists play better at altitude.

The first Test between Wales and the Boks is in Pretoria on 2 July, with the series continuing in Bloemfontein before finishing in Cape Town.

Wales will be going into the three-Test tour of South Africa as rank outsiders, having endured a tough Six Nations campaign which ended in a disappointing defeat by Italy.

That was Italy’s first win over Wales since 2007 and ended a 36-game Six Nations losing streak.

The Wales squad leave for SA on Thursday, and scrumhalf Gareth Davies and prop Wyn Jones are optimistic about matching the Boks physically, thanks to some gruelling pre-tour training.

During the first instalment of the ‘Wales in Camp’ vodcast, Davies said: “We’ve been doing a lot of altitude training, lots of bike sessions in the morning. They’ve been quite tasty. The first game is in Pretoria and the second in Bloemfontein, both at altitude level.

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“Quite fortunate for us that we have the altitude chamber here, and that’s where we’ve been doing our bike sessions, and other various sessions, to get our lungs used to that.”

Jones added: “The mornings have been harder than training, I think, with altitude [training] and then the contact sessions … to get the body ready.

“They’ve got a lot of strength in depth but we know what’s coming – they’re going to be direct and that’s the challenge, especially as forwards, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Wales have never beaten the world champion Boks in South Africa in 10 previous attempts, even though recent Tests between the two sides have been closely contested.

Critics have also hit out at head coach Wayne Pivac, with many saying the Dragons face a strong likelihood of being ‘humiliated’.

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“One of Wayne’s points that he has been mentioning from the start is that we are on a mission to create history out there,” said Davies who, along with Jones, lost to the Boks in the 2021 British & Irish Lions series in Cape Town. “So, hopefully now we can prepare well and do that.

“We came close back in 2014 when we nearly beat them, but there was a winning try in the last minute … so hopefully we can be on the right side this time.”

The Lions series was contested without any stadium fans but with restrictions now eased, the Boks will relish being cheered on by a partisan crowd on home turf.

Jones, though, said it works both ways: “It’ll be nice to see red jerseys in the stadiums; I know a lot of people would’ve saved up for a trip and it’ll be nice to see them back and will enjoy it just as much as us.

“It’s always massive to have a crowd behind you, and it’s a very different game to play when the stadiums are full.”

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Devin Hermanus