Boks keen to end Cardiff drought

NOVEMBER SPOTLIGHT: South Africa may be on an upward trajectory, but it could all come crashing down in Cardiff on Saturday.

The Millennium Stadium has not been kind to the Boks, with their last win at this Cardiff venue having been in November 2013.

And it is not just the venue that could put a damper on what has been an encouraging year-end tour for the Boks.

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said Wales will be a very difficult side to confront on Saturday.

He was stating the obvious when he spoke of a “tough” challenge in the indoor venue – with the roof set to be closed.

The RugbyPass Index is giving Wales a 72 percent Win Likelihood.

“Both teams at the moment are in a good space,” Stick said.

Wales beat Scotland 21-10 on November 3, Australia 9-6 (November 10) and Tonga 74-24 (last Saturday).

SA’s November results read: lost 11-12 to England, beat France 29-26 and beat Scotland 26-20.

Stick praised the Bok players for the manner in which they’ve adjusted to the very different and challenging conditions on tour.

“I have to give credit to our players – I think they have adapted very well to the conditions [on this tour],” he said.

However, as head coach Rassie Erasmus said earlier this week, Wales is likely to be South Africa’s toughest challenge on tour.

“They [Wales] have a number of good performances and wins behind them during this month, so we know it’s going to be very tough,” Stick said.

“Wales have a well-balanced team.

“There are good on attack strong on defence and also have an impressive kicking game.

“However, we want to finish the tour on a positive note so we will give it our best effort,” said Stick.

He is also happy with the overall growth of the current squad of players as a Bok group.

“We started a bit slow in June when we played against England and we knew that we have to give opportunities to players and let them play together as we increase the depth of our squad.

“In that respect, we’ve seen a lot of progress and improvement in our squad, especially if you take into account that we have a number plenty of chances to players since June as we try and increase our depth for the World Cup”

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