Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Former Springbok forwards coach Gary Gold believes Wales lack the mental edge to beat South Africa.
The Springboks have dominated Wales over the years and boast a 24-1 winning record, with one match ending in a draw.
However, their last four meetings were close affairs, with the Boks sneaking home 17-16 at the World Cup in New Zealand two years ago and in three Tests in Cardiff before that the respective scorelines read: 29-25; 34-31 and 20-15.
Gold was part of the Springbok camp in those last four meetings and predicts a similar trend when the teams clash at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have developed a habit of losing to South Africa even when they dominated proceedings. In their last clash at the World Cup, the Boks were outplayed at the collisions and breakdowns but still sneaked a one-point win.
In an interview with the SA Rugbymag website, Gold said Wales' problem is a confidence issue.
He said while there's not much to choose between the two teams, South Africa believe they can beat Wales, with the Welsh believing the Boks have the physical edge on them.
But Wales will take heart from the fact that they are the Six Nations champions and the bulk of their players made up the British and Irish Lions' team that beat the Wallabies earlier this year.
However, Gold still predicts a Springboks victory. He said it's "difficult to explain" but he has been involved in a lot of games against Wales where it seemed as though Wales would win, but somehow end up losing.
Gold is currently the Director of Rugby at English club, Bath.
Saturday's Test kicks off at 19:30 (SA time).
After the Wales Test, the Boks also face Scotland (November 17, Edinburgh) and France (November 23, Paris).
Teams:
Wales:
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Substitutes: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams
South Africa:
15 Patrick Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 JJ Engelbrecht, 23 Willie le Roux
The Springboks have dominated Wales over the years and boast a 24-1 winning record, with one match ending in a draw.
However, their last four meetings were close affairs, with the Boks sneaking home 17-16 at the World Cup in New Zealand two years ago and in three Tests in Cardiff before that the respective scorelines read: 29-25; 34-31 and 20-15.
Gold was part of the Springbok camp in those last four meetings and predicts a similar trend when the teams clash at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have developed a habit of losing to South Africa even when they dominated proceedings. In their last clash at the World Cup, the Boks were outplayed at the collisions and breakdowns but still sneaked a one-point win.
In an interview with the SA Rugbymag website, Gold said Wales' problem is a confidence issue.
He said while there's not much to choose between the two teams, South Africa believe they can beat Wales, with the Welsh believing the Boks have the physical edge on them.
But Wales will take heart from the fact that they are the Six Nations champions and the bulk of their players made up the British and Irish Lions' team that beat the Wallabies earlier this year.
However, Gold still predicts a Springboks victory. He said it's "difficult to explain" but he has been involved in a lot of games against Wales where it seemed as though Wales would win, but somehow end up losing.
Gold is currently the Director of Rugby at English club, Bath.
Saturday's Test kicks off at 19:30 (SA time).
After the Wales Test, the Boks also face Scotland (November 17, Edinburgh) and France (November 23, Paris).
Teams:
Wales:
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Substitutes: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams
South Africa:
15 Patrick Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 JJ Engelbrecht, 23 Willie le Roux
