Wales expects to dominate South Africa in the forward battle
Wales believes their forwards can get the better of the South African pack in their Test match against the Springboks on Saturday 13 November.
The South African forwards were impressive against Ireland in their 21-23 win in Dublin last week and their dominance was the main reason the Springboks won the Test.
However, they will face a different challenge against Wales, which has the same front-row that got the better of South Africa on the 2009 Lions tour.
The Welsh forwards' coach Robin McBryde believes his side will be better after playing their first match in the Autumn Internationals in a 16-25 loss to Australia last week.
Speaking to the press ahead of the Test, McBryde said, "We are blessed with a front row that played against South Africa for the British & Irish Lions, and we are all aware of the outcome then. As a front five, I think they are gelling together. We can match
anyone physically, that's where the biggest challenge will be.”
The front five dominated Australia in the scrum, but South Africa should be a more difficult prospect with the likes of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha in the second row.
McBryde acknowledged that the Springboks will be more challenging in the front five than the Wallabies.
"South Africa pose different threats. It is much more of a physical, direct threat. We've got to tailor our approach in attack and defence to match South Africa,” he said.
However the coach feels his team will be better after a competitive Test and that they will dominate the forward battle particularly at scrum time.
"We've traditionally started slowly in the autumn and built as the series went on, but we've really laid a platform. We always aim to dominate up front, that's what we're trying to achieve, having the scrum as a weapon,” said McBryde.
Wales will feel that their expected forward dominance should give them the edge over the Springboks come Saturday.
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