Boks able to select strong team for Wales clash that’s all about money

Welsh rugby is at an all-time low. The national men’s team has won just two of its past 2o Tests – both against Japan – while the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) is struggling financially.

That’s why this clash against the Springboks is being played at the end of a long November slog, with depleted teams on both sides.

The WRU needs to boost its coffers anyway it can and it should make several million pounds from this match, despite a stadium that might only be 70% full.

A Test against the world champions and the world’s No 1 team should be a plum encounter attracting great interest, but there is fixture and performance fatigue in Wales.

Last month the WRU confirmed it was culling one of its United Rugby Championship clubs in a cost-cutting move after years of instability.

Instead, it feels like an exercise in futility for both teams as the Boks take on a callow Welsh team after 13 of their players were forced to return to club duty this week.

Given the state of Wales rugby on the field and its financial struggles off it, and the quality of the opposition – depleted or not – Steve Tandy’s team might be regretting taking on this match.

Daily Maverick understands and the South African Rugby Union even suggested to the WRU that it might be best to cancel the fixture. That idea was rejected.

The match was apparently agreed by the previous WRU leadership, as far back as 2020. Still, they had an option to call it off, although that would have come with a swathe of paperwork over broadcast agreements, ticketing and other marketing activations.

Positive spin

Instead, the WRU have tried to put a positive spin on a fixture that sees the Boks with only 25 players in the touring group, making training sessions particularly tricky.

“We will have welcomed almost a quarter of a million supporters through Principality Stadium turnstiles, across the four consecutive weekends in November which make up the Quilter Nations Series in Cardiff, when we host South Africa this weekend,” the WRU said.

“From a performance perspective, challenging yourself against the very best sides in the world game boosts player and team development.

“And from a business point of view the addition of a fourth international match in the series directly boosts resources available to invest directly back into rugby in Wales.

“We are hugely grateful to the hundreds of thousands of fans who have shown their support for our new head coach, Steve Tandy, and his team as they build for the future.”

Wales coach Tandy had no option but to view the match against the world’s best team with a positive mindset.

“It’s a great opportunity for the boys. We picked a squad at the start and we knew this game was already in place,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for a good few boys to get their start and they’ve all worked hard throughout the campaign. I think they are all excited and can’t wait to get going on Saturday.”

Cap gap

In total Wales are without 13 front-line players and the Boks are shorn of the same number. Due to the Boks’ heavy rotational policy, though, they are only missing eight of the squad that beat Ireland 24-13 last week.

Welsh supporters are being asked to stump up about £90 on average (R2,100) per ticket. Only about 50,000 are expected to attend in the 74,000-capacity stadium.

On the field, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus was still able to select a 23-man squad with a total of 899 Test caps – 525 of those in the starting lineup.

Wales’ entire squad has a total of 306 Test caps – or fewer than Siya Kolisi, Damian de Allende and Eben Etzebeth combined.

Despite the Boks’ changes, Erasmus is still fielding a strong team that could stand up to any tier-one nation. He has been forced into a 7-1 bench split between forwards and backs, given that he had no other backline players available.

Hybrid player André Esterhuizen starts at centre this week.

The forwards have a hard edge with No 8 Jasper Wiese, Franco Mostert at flank and Jean Kleyn at No 4 lock. The front row is the all-Bulls trio of Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw.

Kolisi and lock Ruan Nortje provide the nous and leadership in the pack.

It’s behind the scrum that this week’s Bok unit sets the pulse racing.

Morne van den Berg starts at scrumhalf alongside the sparkling Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with Esterhuizen and De Allende in the centres.

Canan Moodie and Ethan Hooker are at wing with Damian Willemse completing the back three at fullback. It’s a lineup designed to score tries.

The bench is a mixture of experience and youth, with inexperienced props Zach Porthen and Asenathi Ntlabakanye and flank Ben-Jason Dixon, offset by the likes of Bongi Mbonambi, Etzebeth and Kwagga Smith on the wood.

“We knew from the outset that we would lose players for this match due to their club commitments, and we are pleased with the quality of the team we’ve selected,” said Erasmus.

“We’ve been rotating our players throughout the year, and this group has been together for close to five weeks, so many of these combinations are fully settled, while others, such as Zachary and Asenathi, have shown what they are capable of this season, and we are excited that they will receive another chance to play.

“I’d like to thank the provincial unions and clubs who released these players to represent the country this weekend, so we could field a strong side capable of finishing off our November tour on a high note.” DM

Teams:

Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Keiron Assiratti,
2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Gareth Thomas.
Reserves: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Christian Coleman, 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Thomas.

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Reserves: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Zachary Porthen, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Kwagga Smith, 23 Cobus Reinach.