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CAPE TOWN – It might be stretching it to suggest that today’s decider in Cape Town is a re-run of the British and Irish Lions rugby series, but Wales coach Wayne Pivac is right when he says the pressure at DHL Stadium is all on South Africa’s Springboks.
By winning in Bloemfontein last week, Wales already exceeded most expectations for the Castle Lager Test Series against the World Cup champions. They have at last broken their duck when it comes to wins against the Boks on South African soil, and the fact they now go to sea level with the series one-all after two inland Test matches is already a massive win for them.
The reason it isn’t a repeat of the Lions series for the Boks is because there isn’t the same intense focus and global scrutiny that comes with the iconic once in every 12 year battle against the composite team from the four Home Unions. Winning today shouldn’t bring the same level of elation from Siya Kolisi’s men as they experienced just under 12 months ago when Morne Steyn clinched the series with his late penalty kick.
At the same time though, the fact they are playing against a team made up of players from just one Home Union nation does bring a different kind of pressure, perhaps a more negative one. Bok coach Jacques Nienaber spoke during the week about last week’s defeat being a disaster.
You could debate that, as the South Africans were trying something different, and history may reflect that there were learnings at the Toyota Stadium that will put the Boks in a better space in the build-up to next year’s Rugby World Cup than they might otherwise be.
Those who criticise Nienaber for making 14 changes last week appear to suffer from memory failure. Many were calling out for him to spread his squad depth by giving players opportunities. Yes, it was quite a radical change, and it might have been a more sensible approach to mix and match selections over the first two tests.
It could even be argued that throwing so many less experienced players into the same team was unfair on them. It is normally considered best practice to introduce new players around a settled spine. – Supersport.com
Online Reporter