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Bookies: Wales to down Boks by 5

Cape Town - Wales will pile more misery on the Springboks by beating them in Cardiff on Saturday, local bookmakers have predicted.

Under coach Allister Coetzee’s tutelage in 2016, the Springboks have lost seven of 11 Tests.

It included a first ever loss to Ireland on home soil, losing away to Argentina, getting pummelled by a record 57-15 scoreline at home against the All Blacks, as well as last weekend's fiasco in Florence, which saw a first ever loss to 13th-ranked Italy (20-18).

Victory in their final Test of the year is non-negotiable and the Boks will take some heart that it’s against a team they have traditionally done well against.

Of the 31 matches played to date, the Boks have won 28, lost two and drawn one.

Wales have also struggled of late, having suffered a heavy 32-8 home loss to Australia earlier this month. They followed that up with a 24-20 win over Argentina before scraping past minnows Japan last weekend, winning 33-30 thanks to a late drop goal.

However, despite their struggles, local bookmakers, Sportingbet.co.za, have the Dragons as 5-point favourites.

While the Boks won the most recent encounter between the sides (23-19 at Twickenham during last year’s Rugby World Cup), Wales emerged victorious in the last clash in Cardiff when they eked out a 12-6 win in 2014.

Another loss for South Africa would take Coetzee's winning percentage to a lowly 33% which would make it hard for him to keep his job.

Saturday's clash is scheduled for 19:30 (SA time).

Teams:

Wales

15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain)

Substitutes: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts

South Africa

15 Johan Goosen, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lionel Mapoe

Full list of previous Springbok Tests against Wales:

December 1, 1906: St. Helen's, Swansea, won 11-0

December 14, 1912: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, won 3-0

December 5, 1931: St. Helen's, Swansea, won 8-3

December 22, 1951: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, won 6-3

December 3, 1960: National Stadium, Cardiff, won 3-0

May 23, 1964: Kings Park, Durban, won 24–3

January 24, 1970: National Stadium, Cardiff, 6-6 draw

November 26, 1994: National Stadium, Cardiff, won 20-12

September 2, 1995: Ellis Park, Johannesburg, won 40-11

December 15, 1996: National Stadium, Cardiff, won 37-20

June 27, 1998 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, won 96–13

November 14, 1998: Wembley Stadium, England, won 28-20

June 26, 1999: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, lost 29–19

November 26, 2000: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 23-13

June 8, 2002: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein won 34-19

June 15, 2002: Newlands, Cape Town, won 19-8

June 26, 2004: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, won 53-18

November 6, 2004: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 38-36

November 19, 2005: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 33-16

November 24, 2007: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 34-12

June 7, 2008: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, won 43-17

June 14, 2008: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, won 37-21

November 8, 2008: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 20-15

June 5, 2010: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 34-31

November 13, 2010: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 29-25

September 11, 2011: Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, won 17-16

November 9, 2013: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, won 24-15

June 14, 2014: Kings Park, Durban, won 38-16

June 21, 2014: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, won 31-30

November 29, 2014: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, lost 12-6

October 17, 2015: Twickenham, London, won 23-19

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