Wales conclude their autumn international series on Saturday afternoon when they host South Africa at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Warren Gatland’s side have been unconvincing so far this autumn, having lost to both Australia and New Zealand and they scraped a narrow win over Georgia.
One positive for Gatland though has been the blooding of fresh faces in his squad. Many of his changes have been enforced as a result of a number of key players out injured, including Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams. Some of the youngsters have paid off, but results against the top southern hemisphere teams still elude Gatland, who’s record against the elite teams is terrible.
The Kiwi head coach has won just three of 37 meetings with the southern hemisphere superpowers, although two of those victories have come against South Africa, including a 27-13 win at the same time last year, when the Springboks were at the end of a long campaign.
2016 was a difficult year for South African rugby and head coach Allister Coetzee and 2017 hasn’t been the rosiest year either. They’ve won seven of their 12 games this year, but all against struggling opposition, including four victories over France, a double win over Argentina in the Rugby Championship and last week’s thumping of Italy. They drew to Australia in the Rugby Championship, but the one result that stands out is the 57-0 defeat to New Zealand in September. The pressure is on for Coetzee and there’s a strong belief that Saturday’s match against Wales could be his last as South Africa head coach.
Wales vs. South Africa Predictions
Wales come into this side as the underdogs in the betting market, but they’re more than capable of springing what might be defined as a surprise. South Africa are the only southern hemisphere side they have form against and they’re more than capable of winning this game. They’re also not burdened by club and country rows as this is a game outside of the designated international window, unlike the Springboks, who find many of their top stars opting to play for clubs rather than their country.
Wales vs. South Africa Betting Tips
Head to Head
- In the most recent meeting between the two teams, Wales beat the Springboks 27-13 during the 2016 autumn internationals.
- Wales and South Africa have contested a total of 32 rugby matches since their first meeting in 1906.
- Wales have won three of those matches, while South Africa have won 28. There was one draw in 1970.
Wales Team News
Hadleigh Parkes makes his debut in the centres, lining up alongside Scott Williams. The New Zealander qualifies for Wales via residency on the same day. Cory Hill replaces Jake Ball, who dislocated a shoulder in last week’s defeat to the All Blacks, while Aled Davies starts at scrum-half. Kristian Dacey replaces British Lion Ken Owens, who is out with a back injury.
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Hallam Amos, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Aled Davies, 1 Rob Evans, 2 Kristian Dacey, 3 Scott Andrews, 4 Cory Hill, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 Josh Navidi, 8 Taulupe Faletau
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 Team News
South Africa have made wholesale changes to their side ahead of this week’s game, with first starts for Warrick Gelant and Dan du Preez. Gelant was a replacement against Italy last week and came on to make a big impact in the second half. Other changes for this week include Tendai Mtawarira, who’s out with a groin problem, while Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen have both returned to their club sides.
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Warrick Gelant, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ross Cronje, 1 Steven Kitshoff, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 6 Siya Kolisi, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Dan du Preez
Replacements: 16 Bonjani Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Oupa Mahoje, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Lukhanyo Am