Frans Malherbe says the Springboks are ready for an all-out battle against Wales on Saturday, as it is exactly what the world champions need to prime them for the World Cup.
The Boks tackle the Welsh Dragons at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, before lining up against the All Blacks in London next Friday, in their final warm-up fixture before departing for a week-long training camp in Corsica en route to France.
South Africa’s opening match in the defence of the Webb Ellis Cup is against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday, 10 September. This will be followed by pool matches against Romania in Bordeaux (17 September), Ireland in Paris (23 September) and Tonga in Marseille (1 October).
The Boks face a heavily-changed Wales outfit that on Thursday lost two of its most experienced backs – Dan Biggar and Liam Williams – to injury, but Malherbe expects a massive challenge up front for the Welsh pack.
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Speaking in the build-up to this weekend’s clash, the veteran tighthead prop told media: “Wales are a quality team with good plans, so the focus for us will be on doing what we want to do and to execute the things we have been working on as well as we can.
“It’s a great opportunity for us face sides like Wales and the All Blacks before the Rugby World Cup so we can improve on the areas we’d like to work on, build form and further develop the way we want to play.”
The Boks received the good news this week that captain Siya Kolisi had been cleared to play and will start his first Test of 2023 after having surgery to his knee earlier this year, and Malherbe was pleased to welcome him back.
“It’s awesome to have a guy like Siya back,” he said. “I’m really happy for him. The two of us have come a long way from playing junior rugby together, so it’s great to see that he is back on the field.”
Malherbe will, in a sense, complete a full circle in his career on Saturday after making his Test debut against Wales in Cardiff in 2013, and the 61-Test anchor added: “I’ve been privileged to have been part of the Boks as long as this and I just want to keep working hard and continue to get the backing of the players.”
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