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4 things to keep an eye on as the Springboks face Wales in KZN

The potential Springbok debutants are set to be a talking point ahead of the Boks' clash with Wales in Durban.

The Springboks and Wales meet in a round three Nations Championship match in Durban on Saturday, with kick off at 5.40pm, reports The Citizen.

It is the 45th meeting between the teams.

Here then are four things to keep an eye on at Kings Park.

Bok debutants

There will be four uncapped South Africans in action.

Flyhalf Vusi Moyo is just 21 and has hardly played a game at senior level, having been a star of the Junior Boks. He’ll have plenty of attention on him. So, too, will it be the case with wing Jaco Williams, also from last year’s Junior Boks side.

Then there are the two well-travelled men who’ll finally make their debuts – prop Carlu Sadie and lock Ruben van Heerden.

All four men have a great chance to make their coaches put right ticks behind their names.

Defence

In three matches so far this season, in the non-Test against the Barbarians and Tests against England and Scotland, the Boks have scored a total of 25 tries which shows their willingness, and ability, to play attacking rugby.

But they’ve also conceded 11 tries … four against the Barbarians, three against England and four against Scotland.

The Boks will especially be aware of the big holes Scotland found in the backline at Loftus last weekend, and will want to make sure Wales don’t penetrate as easily in this match.

Players on squad fringes

With this the last match of the Nations Championship Tests this July, coach Rassie Erasmus will finalise a squad afterwards to take on Argentina in a warm-up before turning his attention to the four Tests against New Zealand in the Greatest Rivalry series.

It is thus a last chance for some players, who’ve only played a few times for the Boks, or who’ve been recalled after a long absence, to impress and get into the mix for the All Blacks Tests.

Here we think of Paul de Villiers (two Tests), Cobus Wiese (three), Andre-Hugo Venter (one), Ben-Jason Dixon (nine), and Herschel Jantjies (24, but back after three years out).

Wales performance

Not too many South Africans will be bothered by the standard of play that Wales produce, but it will nevertheless be interesting to see if they have really made progress since the Boks last played against them, in November last year. On that occasion the Boks won 73-0.

Coach Steve Tandy’s team didn’t win a game in this year’s Six Nations, finishing last on the log, and in the Nations Championship so far this month have beaten Fiji, but lost to Argentina.

How will they go in Durban, against a Bok team that is properly firing at the moment?

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Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Jacques manages the daily sports offering for online and print at The Citizen. He previously worked as a senior rugby and golf writer for The Star and Independent Media’s weekend print and online publications. He has travelled extensively with the Springboks, touring to Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to cover tours and Test matches. He has also covered several World Sevens Series tournaments, including in Hong Kong. Jacques has covered well over 100 Test matches and numerous other rugby encounters across South Africa. He has also covered a number of the biggest golfing tournaments held in South Africa as well as the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He is passionate about all things sport, with athletics at the top of his great sporting loves. He has 25 years’ experience in mainstream media, as a writer, sub-editor and editor. He is a former recipient of a Sasol Springbok rugby writing award. If you give him a gap, he’ll talk all day about running, on the road and on trails. He’s run numerous marathons and also completed the famous Comrades ultra marathon in KZN. When he’s not running, you might find him on the golf course or squash court, two other favourites past-times.

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