Rassie Erasmus' experience of losing to Wales has Springboks on red alert for tour finale

No matter how poor Wales may currently be, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has good reason never to underestimate the men in red.

Erasmus has personally experienced a series of unfortunate firsts against Wales. As a player, he was in the first Springbok team to lose to them; in his first match as Bok coach, he lost to Wales in Washington; and he was part of the coaching team when Wales claimed their first win on South African soil, in Bloemfontein in 2022.

Speaking after naming his team for Saturday’s tour finale in Cardiff, Erasmus said he has warned his players not to write off the Welsh.

“In 1999, we were invited to play Wales to celebrate the opening of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and they thrashed us. In 2018, 92 Tests ago, in my first match in charge, we lost to Wales in the USA; we lost that game in Bloemfontein; and we lost in Cardiff on an End-of-Year tour. If you look back at the 2019 World Cup, they almost beat us in the quarter-final.

“So if you ask me what I want out of the game, first of all, it is to win because I never underestimate Wales,” Erasmus cautioned.

The coach acknowledged that Welsh rugby is currently at a low ebb, but he believes it is only a matter of time before they rise again.

“I always say that Italy, Argentina and Wales are similar teams because they never give up. I’m not offending other countries, because they have other strengths, but that never goes away.

“I don’t understand what is going on in the Wales domestic set-up, the politics, what works and what doesn’t, but I know that deep in the underbelly of Wales, there is fight.

“Someday it must come right, and (new coach) Steve Tandy is getting good structures together. Our starting team is experienced, with an average age of 27, and the average caps are around 40.

“Wales’ average caps are about 11, so it can be either a highly energetic Welsh team that gives nothing away, fights like hell, and surprises us, or we can grind it out with the correct mindset and eventually get away on the scoreboard.

“However, it is a difficult game to predict with a French referee who is refereeing for the first time at tier-one level.”

Erasmus said he has told his players to enjoy the special atmosphere guaranteed at a packed Principality Stadium.

“I like the Welsh culture — how they arrive at the stadium with horses in front of the bus, the band before the game,” Erasmus said. “It has always been a nice fixture, and we have to win and travel home with our heads held high, but the Welsh will definitely try to stop us.”

Erasmus was asked why the Springboks agreed to play this fixture, which falls outside the official Test window.

He said: “I do think there is a place for games outside the Test window. This fixture against Wales — many people might say it’s a dead rubber — but it’s a cap for Springbok players who sit on the bus.

“The whole experience is something for players to treasure. People might say it’s a bad Wales team and a second-string South Africa team, but it’s still a Test cap. It’s something you, as a team, go through together, and the players learn a bit more.”

Springbok team to face Wales

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5, Ruan Nortje 4, Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.

Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17, Zachary Porthen, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Kwagga Smith, 23 Cobus Reinach.