The 21-year-old came off the bench for the last eight minutes of Wales’s Pool A defeat to Australia last weekend. Never one to shy away from confrontation, Moriarty is determined to emerge victorious from the arm wrestle on Saturday.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity to show that we can be one of the most physical teams in the world, which everyone thinks South Africa are, so it’s a good opportunity for us as a group. This will be the biggest physical test of my career, they have built up a reputation over the years and people think of their past. We will concentrate on ourselves and get our house in order and I’m confident we’ll be able to match it.
“South Africa offer different threats to what we have faced so far and bring different things in defence and attack than Australia. We have to look at different ways to get around it. We have to be mentally more than physically prepared for the challenge. If we are mentally right then you are going to be able to match them.”
Wales triumphed 12-6 the last time the two sides met back in the autumn. But South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer is expected to announce a side more similar to the one that broke Welsh hearts in Nelspruit last summer when they defeated Warren Gatland’s men 31-20 in the final minute.
But Moriarty insists Wales will be better prepared than they have been for any other game as they bid to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row.
He said: “South Africa are known for being big, heavy, powerful men. You have to try and match that physicality as best as possible. We know it’s knockout rugby now so, in training, people will be a bit edgy and making sure they have their roles locked down. So we’ll be better prepared than in any other games.
“Being around senior internationals and Lions players and captains helps me a lot with my individual development and seeing how they lead the team. It’s great to listen to different peoples’ views on how to do different things, it all adds up. Every little piece of advice I pick up helps me become a better player.
“We’re just concentrating on this World Cup, the players that were there in 2011 will have learnt from those experiences and will have learned to do better than they did then that helps us a team.”
