Wales v South Africa: Springboks captain Siya Kolisi annoyed by fixture negativity

Autumn international: Wales v South Africa

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 29 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru; live text commentary on BBC Sport website & app

Wales and South Africa bring down the curtain on the world’s 2025 international programme on Saturday.

One of the major debates in the build-up has been whether they should be playing at all.

It is a match organised outside World Rugby’s international window which has attracted criticism, with both squads missing players.

However, South Africa’s double World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi is in no doubt about the fixture’s validity, presenting a passionate defence.

«I know a lot of people in the Welsh public are saying ‘why are they playing this game against the Springboks?’,» said Kolisi.

«I don’t like it when people question this. Who are they [Wales] supposed to play to improve themselves?

«People look at this stuff so negatively. You only improve with playing against the top teams, that’s how you measure yourself.

«Rugby people know this is only going to make them [Wales] better, no matter what the result is for them or us.»

Wales are without 13 players who play in England and France but Kolisi believes this will give opportunities for others.

«I know the first-choice players are not there, but to create squad depth you have to play against the best teams,» said Kolisi.

«This is good when the other guys are not available. At least these guys playing now will have tasted this and had that experience.

«The game is good for both teams this weekend and the Welsh Rugby Union can get good answers on their players.»

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has backed his captain’s assessment, saying there are merits in fixtures outside World Rugby’s window.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) say «challenging yourself against the best sides in the world boosts player and team development».

One of the main motives behind the fixture is to raise money, with the governing body also saying «the fourth international boosts resources to invest directly back into Welsh rugby».

Not everybody agrees with these sentiments. There are contrasting opinions and former Wales internationals James Hook and Richie Rees have criticised the game.

Ospreys coach Mark Jones says he does not like it as it clashes with round six of the United Rugby Championship (URC) which features Welsh and South African domestic sides in action.

The four Welsh professional sides are depleted with Ospreys without 12 Wales squad players for the trip to Edinburgh, including nine forwards, and Jones forced to field a hooker in the back row.

Dragons and Cardiff have also had to sign emergency hookers for the weekend.

Wales head coach Steve Tandy admits it is «far from perfect» but says sometimes you can «find a diamond» in this situation.

It will be no surprise the strength-in-depth between the two sides contrasts widely.

Erasmus can still call on 899 caps in his matchday squad, while Wales have just 306.

The Springboks’ bench has more caps (374) than Wales’ entire 23-man squad with Tandy forced to name a weakened side to take on the world champions.

South Africa are also without several high-profile players like world player of the year Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe.

The Springboks possess considerable depth with Kolisi still captaining a team including Jasper Wiese, Damian de Allende, Damian Willemse and new fly-half star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with Eben Etzebeth and Bongi Mbonambi in reserve.

Erasmus has opted for seven forwards on the bench with scrum-half Cobus Reinach the only backline replacement.

That means Wales will face the full force of 15 Springbok forwards during the 80 minutes, with the famous «Bomb Squad» set to come on in the second half looking to overpower their hosts.

No surprise, then, Wales have been given no hope of pulling off a shock win.

So if not victory, what can Wales look to as success?

It might sound strange but there was a feeling of optimism among some home fans last Saturday when they left the Principality Stadium following the 52-26 loss to New Zealand.

Hard to believe when Wales had suffered a 10th home defeat in 11 games and a 20th loss in 22 Test matches, while also shipping a half-century of points in Cardiff for the third time this year.

But given the continual crisis Welsh rugby has endured over the past couple of years, any glimpses of recovery are pounced upon.

Last weekend it was the improved attacking intent to hold onto, scoring four tries against the All Blacks with wing Tom Rogers becoming the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick against New Zealand.

«We saw what the Welsh team can do against New Zealand and it’s going to be tough,» said Kolisi.

«They had amazing moments in the game, and only later did New Zealand pull away.

«We know what it’s like to come here and play, we don’t have a great record against Wales in Cardiff recently.»

Flanker Kolisi, 34, is alluding to four successive Wales victories at the Principality Stadium between 2014 and 2018 in this fixture.

The Springboks have triumphed in their past three games in the Welsh capital with a 52-16 victory in 2023 followed up by the 45-12 success a year later.

Kolisi says Wales will not be underestimated.

«There’s so much history between the two teams, we respect the Welsh team and know how tough they are,» he said.

«If we come in and be arrogant, we’ve seen what happens.

«If we thought it was going to be weak, we wouldn’t have prepared the way we have this week.»

South Africa are aiming to complete a second successive clean sweep of victories on their end-of-the-year tour, having already seen wins against Japan, France, Italy and Ireland.

Whatever the result, the Springboks are guaranteed to finish as the world’s top side for a third successive season.

In contrast, Wales are ranked 11th in the world with their only two wins this year coming against Japan.

Kolisi recalls South Africa found itself in a difficult situation at the beginning of his Springboks career.

«We’ve also been in this position before, where in 2015 all the guys retired at the same time and we went downhill,» said Kolisi.

«When you remove so much experience at the same time, you leave many holes.

«We lost 57-0 to New Zealand [in 2017]. It sucks, it feels that it’s not going to end. Then coach Rassie [Erasmus] came in and we started to change things.»

Kolisi believes Wales will rise again and urged the Welsh public to keep faith.

«I have no doubt they’ll get through what they are going through now and come back from this,» said Kolisi.

«It’s a matter of when it will change. If you all believe in the group, put the team first and not point fingers.

«People mustn’t lose hope and heart in the team, just keep on supporting them and I love how the Welsh people keep on doing that.

«They will come good.»

Kind words from this Springboks legend. On the field on Saurday Kolisi’s South Africa are unlikley to be as generous.

Wales: Murray; Mee, Roberts, Hawkins, Dyer; Edwards, Hardy; G Thomas, Lake (capt), Assiratti, Carter, R Davies, Plumtree, Mann, Wainwright.

Replacements: Coghlan, Southworth, Coleman, Ratti, Morse, Morgan-Williams, Sheedy, B Thomas.

South Africa: D Willemse; Hooker, De Allende, Esterhuizen, Moodie; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Van der Berg; Steenekamp, Grobbelaar, Louw, Kleyn, Nortje, Kolisi (capt), Mostert, Wiese.

Replacements: Mbonambi, Porthen, Ntlabakanye, Etzebeth, Van Staden, Dixon, Smith, Reinach.

Referee: Luc Ramos (France)

Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Pierre Brousset (France)

TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

FPRO: Andrew Jackson (England).