'We were embarrassed by that...There is no hiding from that'
Wales boss Wayne Pivac says that mental strength will be vital during a three-Test series against world champions South Africa.
Just over three months after losing at home to Italy, Wales face the Springboks at altitude in Pretoria next Saturday.
Games in Bloemfontein and Cape Town follow, with Wales returning to a country where they have never toppled their hosts on home soil.
Ten previous Tests in South Africa all went the Springboks’ way – by an average scoreline of 41-14 – while Wales have only won four of the last 12 games against all opponents.
“Nobody likes finishing on a sour note with a poor performance,” Pivac said, reflecting on the 22-21 Guinness Six Nations loss to Italy in March.
“It is a long time between drinks, as they say. For us, it is about making sure we reflect on that time wisely.
“From a mental point of view as well where we apply ourselves, and we’ve got to be strong mentally to go to South Africa over three Test matches.
“We need to make sure that we give ourselves every opportunity.
“It is not just a physical game we’ve got to be able to counter, but it is also a mental game as well. We need to make sure we are up to that challenge.
“History says we that haven’t done well there (in South Africa), clearly.
“We will be doing what we think we need to do to try to win the first Test, and then set ourselves up for a great series.”
Wales’ recent home record against South Africa is in stark contrast to their tour travails, having won four of the last five fixtures in Cardiff.
And Pivac knows his players must hit the ground running at Loftus Versfeld, where Wales’ three previous visits produced defeats to the tune of 96-13 (1998), 53-18 (2004) and 37-21 (2008).
Reflecting on home successes in the fixture, Pivac added: “I think in the past, Wales have had a very good kicking game.
“And they have had a very good defensive game and been able to negate some of the strengths South Africa bring.
“I think the key is on the day the only experience I had with the team against South Africa (last November) we had to make sure we could stop the lineout drive and try to stop the scrum penalties.
“You have also got to be good under the high ball. There is going to be a lot of kicking, a lot of clatter, and you have got to fight for everything in those areas of the game as well.
“Wales have been good at doing that. Hopefully, we will continue to be good at that, and that will put some pressure on them.
“We were embarrassed by that last performance (against Italy). There is no hiding from that.
“The players have spoken about it, management have spoken about it, and we are a better team than that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments