adminPRETORIA. — Welsh rugby has a few frontiers left to conquer. This includes winning the World Cup, celebrating a victory in New Zealand and achieving a solitary success against the Springboks in South Africa.
It has proved an imperfect 10 for Wales so far on their visits to face South Africa in the Rainbow Nation.
Ten international matches between 1964 and 2014, 10 defeats. In those games, South Africa have outscored Wales by 415-137 with an average scoreline of 41-14.
Wales have managed six wins out of 37 games between the two countries since the first match in 1906, with five of those wins in Cardiff and another in Washington DC in 2018. But matches in South Africa have proved an unhappy hunting ground for Wales with Wayne Pivac’s side hoping to erase memories and create history.
South Africa’s opening two wins against Wales at home came 31 years apart with a 24-3 victory in Durban in 1964, followed by a 40-11 drubbing in Johannesburg in 1995.
That was the first international played in the professional era. It will be remembered for Springboks second row Kobus Wiese punching Derwyn Jones and not getting sent off while visiting hooker Garin Jenkins was shown a red card for striking Joost van der Westhuizen.
The opening Test of the 2022 series takes place at altitude in Pretoria with Wales enduring miserable times at Loftus Versfeld.
Three previous visits produced defeats to the tune of 96-13 (1998), 53-18 (2004) and 37-21 (2008).
The most infamous of course is the almost 100-point hammering of 24 years ago when a makeshift Wales side were humiliated.
South Africa coach Nick Mallett described his opponents as one of the worst teams in the world.
The 15-try humiliation was Wales’ heaviest ever defeat and the biggest suffered by a major nation.
Wales had toured without a large number of first-choice players who stayed at home because of injury. Caretaker coach Dennis John had to do without 18 players who made themselves unavailable and a further seven were lost to injury on the tour.
Another heavy defeat followed six years later but Wales were far more competitive at the same ground 10 years later. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter