Only Rassie Erasmus’ side stand between Wales and an Under Armour Series clean sweep. Four straight wins would represent a fine campaign and the first time Wales have done so in the autumn – but an upwardly mobile South Africa side will have a different idea altogether.
The Springboks are improving rapidly and in the Rugby Championship, they claimed a famous win over New Zealand and also came close to a second success over the mighty All Blacks. On their northern hemisphere tour, they lost by a point in the most dramatic of fashions to England, but responded with impressive successes over France and Scotland.
“I think South Africa have gone back to their traditional rugby. They have big, physical players and they are direct. It is going to be a real challenge,” said Gatland, after watching his team beat Tonga 74-24. “We have a couple of days off and then we will start thinking about them.
“The good thing about where we are is we are building in confidence. Self belief and confidence is a massive thing in creating momentum and we have done that.
“That was a big part of that second-half performance against Tonga. You are not going to dominate every game or every period of every game. We have had some good success over South Africa in recent years, so it will be important for us to build on that.
“It would be nice to have a clean sweep in the autumn and start thinking about the Six Nations.”
Wales’ last meeting with South Africa saw them triumph 22-20 over the Springboks in Washington DC as the two sides met at the RFK Stadium.
Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias came up with a dramatic and late match-winning try in that encounter in the American heat, but the two teams which will meet at Principality Stadium this weekend could be very different.
After victories over Scotland, Australia and Tonga, Wales are in a good place.
“Yes, absolutely this is the most competitive squad we’ve had. We’ve always spoken about creating depth,” said Gatland, whose team scored 10 tries against Tonga.
“As a coaching set-up we’ve said that when we leave, we want to leave the squad in the best possible position. I think going forwards, Welsh rugby is in a good place and it’s nice to have those headaches. The hardest thing for me about selection is the players who miss out.
“I know how disappointed they are and I expect that because they should back themselves to be in the team. There are definitely going to be some disappointed players against South Africa.”
Wales lock Jake Ball – who impressed against Tonga – added: “Looking at the way they have been playing, it is like watching the South Africa of old.
“They have gone more direct and I have no doubt that is what will be coming next Saturday. A clean sweep is a huge driving factor for us. I am sure that will be spoken about in the week.”
Ball’s Scarlets team-mate Uzair Cassiem, a Springbok international who scored against Wales in Cardiff on his South African debut in 2016, said: “South Africa are in a good space at the moment. They are getting some consistency in their game and getting used to Rassie’s coaching methods.
“They just fell short against England, but their win over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship showed how good they can be. They should have beaten the All Blacks a second time too.
“I still speak to the South African players and I know they will be very, very up for it in Cardiff after their last few results there. They will be a different beast to the team which played in the USA.”
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