The Springboks should be confident of getting a good win over Wales, but will be wary having been stunned before.
Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids said at a press conference on Tuesday that Wales should not be underestimated, ahead of their Nations Championship match in Durban on Saturday. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
Despite being heavy favourites to pick up a big win over Wales in Durban on Saturday, Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids warned on Tuesday that the steadily improving visitors must not be underestimated.
It has been a disastrous past three years since Wales reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, where their loss against Argentina sparked an unbelievable crash that saw them go on to lose 18 consecutive Test matches.
They finally broke that record losing streak with a win over Japan in Kobe in July last year, but since then have won just three times, while losing eight games, showing that they have slightly improved but are still vulnerable.
Worked hard
“They’ve gone through a spell where they’ve worked very hard to get themselves back onto an upward curve. They are a team that has got the better of us before,” said Davids at a Springbok press conference ahead of this weekend’s match.
“I think they would have learned a lot in the Six Nations and also in the game against Argentina (last weekend). You can see clear improvements in their game under Steve Tandy (who took over the team late last year).
“With them coming here and having the opportunity to play against us, this will be another step for them in their journey to improve and become more competitive.
“For us, we approach this as a proper Test match. It’s always about having the same mindset and ensuring that we continue to build our game the way we want to play. We want to build momentum going forward.”
Although the Boks have picked up four massive away wins over Wales over the past three years, thumping them in Cardiff on three occasions, 52-16 in 2023, 45-12 in 2024 and 73-0 in 2025, and 41-13 in London in 2024, they will remember a closely fought home series in 2022.
Heavy favourites
On that occasion the Boks were again heavy favourites to triumph comfortably in the republic, but needed a last gasp Damian Willemse penalty to see an almost full-strength team edge the Welsh 32-29 at Loftus.
The following weekend the Boks made a slew of changes, handing out a number of debuts, and watched a weakened team go down 13-12 in Bloemfontein, which was Wales’ first ever win in South Africa.
The Boks, however, saw out the series relatively comfortably with a decent 30-14 win in Cape Town, which was a carnival atmosphere as it was record cap holder Eben Etzebeth’s 100th appearance.
It is highly unlikely that Wales will be as competitive this weekend as they were that year, but they have shown by beating Fiji 39-24 in Cardiff, and pushing Argentina before going down 35-21 in San Juan, over the past two weeks, that they won’t be as easy to knock over as they have recently been.
“We expect a very tough game, a very physical game, against a side that simply won’t go away. We’ll have to make sure we execute with quality, put them under pressure, and keep that pressure on them. Then we have to make the most of the opportunities we get in the game,” said Davids.
