CAPE TOWN – Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard is looking forward to facing Wales on “neutral ground” in their World Cup semi-final in Yokohama tomorrow (Kick-off 11 AM SA time).
The Boks have lost their last four encounters against the Welsh, a losing streak the South Africans have the perfect chance of ending this weekend. It’s crucial that they use the opportunity.
Their last defeat at the hands of Wales came in Washington last year, when the Boks went with a split-squad approach and rested most of their front-rankers for the England game the following week.
This time they’ll have a full-strength team available, missing only Cheslin Kolbe, and it’s a factor Pollard reckons should set them up for a proper contest.
“Lately, we’ve struggled against them. It’s always our last game on the end-of-year tour, after a long season and in the Millennium Stadium,” he said.
“It’s always tough, and you never have all your guys fit and ready to go. So, it’s going to be nice to play them on a neutral ground, with the teams having most of their players available for selection.”
On the balance between forwards and backs (six-two split) in the attacking game plan, the No10 said: “We’ve got that threat (attacking backs) loaded, but if your boys are mauling and handling the set piece like our boys are at the moment, you are not going to stop. You are not going to fix something that’s not broken, or change anything.
Handre Pollard expects Wales to come up with a “suffocating game plan” Photo: Steve Haag Sports / Hollywoodbets
“It’s no secret, the set-piece battle is coming (tomorrow). I’m sure it will be much tougher handling it this week compared to last week.”
Wales were far from perfect against France last week, with Les Bleus leading 19-10 right until they were brought down to 14 men because of a red card. Even then, France managed to hold them scoreless for a great part of the game, with Wales snatching a penalty and late try to win the game.
But listening to what Pollard said, it’s clear that he expects Wales’ “suffocating game plan” to feature much stronger tomorrow.
“They know what they are good at, and focus on that. They are relentless in those areas. They starve you of possession and territory, and enforce their kicking game on you.
“They take away your set piece. It’s not a game plan or rugby with a lot of flair in it, but it’s suffocating. If you fall into that trap, they will enforce their game plan on you for the whole 80 minutes, and you will probably not win that match.”