Preview: Wales v South Africa

Wales and South Africa will bring the 2017 end-of-year Test programme to an end when they do battle at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Both sides have delivered a mixed bag of results during the year and will be keen to finish the year on a high. The encounter is also a repeat of last year’s Test which Wales won 27-13 at the same venue.

For Springbok coach Allister Coetzee this match will have extra significance as there is plenty of speculation about his position and the word from South Africa is that he is set to be relieved of his duties regardless of the outcome of this Test.

This, despite the Boks winning their last two Tests against France and Italy although the humiliating manner in which they lost their opening Test of their end-of-year tour to Ireland probably sealed Coetzee’s fate after several indifferent results earlier in the year.

Wales, meanwhile, lost to Australia in their opening year-end Test but bounced back with a hard-fought victory over Georgia – with a second-string side – before suffering another defeat, against New Zealand last weekend.

Wales’ goalkicking coach Neil Jenkins expects a tough challenge from the Springboks.

“South Africa are going to be strong, they’re going to be tough,” he said.

“It’s the end of their season, but we turned them over last year so they won’t want that to happen to them again.

“It’s a massive game for us as well and it’s a game we really need to win and want to play well in.

“You can’t take anyone lightly in Test football anymore as we have found out in the past. They’ll be tough on Saturday, there’s no doubt about that because they have some fantastic players.”

Both sides have made changes to their starting line-ups with the Boks losing back-row stalwarts Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen along with lock Franco Mostert because the Test falls outside of the international window. Meanwhile, Wales head coach Gatland has lost second-row Jake Ball to injury while seasoned campaigners like Dan Lydiate and Rhys Webb are amongst the replacements.

The loss of Vermeulen and Louw for the Springboks has been offset by the return of flanker Siya Kolisi who is back in the matchday squad after returning to South Africa for the birth of his child last weekend.

Springboks forwards coach Matt Proudfoot expects Kolisi to make a big impact in this fixture.

“Siya’s got special skills,” he said.

“I’d rather have him play to those strengths than try to play like Flo or Duane.”

Players to watch: 

For Wales: After several years as journeyman professional in the country of his birth – New Zealand – South Africa and Wales, Hadleigh Parkes will make his international debut in this fixture. The 30-year-old completed his three-year Wales residency qualification this week and will be determined to make a positive impact in this Test. As a hard-running midfielder, Parkes will be expected to get Wales over the advantage line and also to lead with his side’s defensive organisation.

For South Africa: After making his debut as a replacement against Italy last weekend, Warrick Gelant gets a chance to show his wares from the start of this Test albeit on the wing as his preferred position is full-back. Gelant has been in superb form in the Currie Cup and was arguably the best player in that tournament this year. The 22-year-old is a brilliant attacker with great vision and is sure to test Wales’ defence with his vast array of skills.

Head-to-head: The fly-half battle will have a huge bearing on this outcome as both Wales’ Dan Biggar and South Africa’s Handré Pollard have brilliant skill-sets and will be expected to lead the way on attack for their respective teams. Both are impressive playmakers and also adept on defence although Pollard has extra pressure on his shoulders as he is also his side’s first-choice goalkicker and will have to be on top of his game in that department. Biggar’s a solid goalkicker himself who is sure to step up if Leigh Halfpenny is unable to fulfill those duties.

Previous results:

2016: Wales won 27-13 in Cardiff
2015: South Africa won 23-19 in London (RWC)
2014: Wales won 12-6 in Cardiff
2014: South Africa won 31-30 in Nelspruit
2014: South Africa won 38-14 in Durban
2013: South Africa won 24-15 in Cardiff
2011: South Africa won 17-16 in Wellington (RWC)
2010: South Africa won 29-25 in Cardiff
2010: South Africa won 34-31 in Cardiff
2008: South Africa won 20-15 in Cardiff
2008: South Africa won 37-21 in Pretoria
2008: South Africa won 43-17 in Bloemfontein

Prediction: Both sides are without several key players which should make this a tight tussle. The Boks though have improved as their year-end tour progressed and will win by five points.

The teams:

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Hallam Amos, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin

South Africa: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Warrick Gelant, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Oupa Mohoje, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Lukhanyo Am

Date: Saturday, December 2
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-Off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)