South Africa are still searching for their best form in the Autumn international series but hope to finish on a high with a win in Wales on Saturday, according to captain Siya Kolisi, who warns their hosts will present several challenges.
The world champion Springboks have beaten Scotland 32-15 and England 29-20 so far but by their own admission did not reach the heights they hoped for in either game.
Wales are on an 11-game losing streak that has placed huge pressure on coach Warren Gatland, but Kolisi says their rivals’ forward pack in particular will be a danger having had the upper hand in the 52-20 loss to Australia on Sunday.
“I know what the score was last week, but I think Wales got five penalties at the scrums, so they have a pack that can stand up to anyone and that is already a great foundation for the team,” Kolisi said.
“We know they are going to play for 80 minutes and give everything they can. They won’t stop, that is how we know them and what we expect this weekend.”
Kolisi is looking for improvement from his side as they aim to end the season with 11 wins from their 13 tests.
“We want to make sure we get a better performance from the group. The last two games we got the wins, but we did not achieve what we wanted to.
“Obviously winning is the most important thing, but we did not give the performances we were looking for. We want to close the year off properly as a group.”
Kolisi says his side will have to execute better: “Last week (against England) we had a lot of plans but we did not use them. A couple of individual moments worked and when we did need something big, the team came through.”
Several Springbok players looked relaxed as they strolled around Cardiff on Thursday, eating ice cream and playing crazy golf.
“We love coming here, the people of Wales always welcome us with open arms,” Kolisi said. “We played crazy golf. I have realised it is not my sport, I needed eight shots on one hole.”
