We can complete an impossible mission, says captain Dan Biggar as Wales look to follow up on their first Test victory in South Africa by winning the series playoff in Cape Town
- Wales broke new ground by winning last week’s second Test
- Now the Welsh are just 80 minutes away from a series win in South Africa
- Wales have won five of their last eight Tests against the Springboks since 2015
The seemingly impossible dream is now possible for Wales.
Wayne Pivac and his players are just 80 minutes away from a series win South Africa. Wales have already broken new ground in the southern hemisphere by winning for the first time in springbok country. A series win is the next step.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to win a series here,” said the Wales captain Dan Biggar | said before adding, “If we had said that before we flew, we would have been laughed out of town.”
Pivac’s men were written off before this tour. History was against them, but so was form as Wales suffered a first home defeat to Italy in the last game before this series. This horror result was the finale of a poor Six Nations. How Wales turned things around.
Dan Biggar and Wales are just 80 minutes away from a series win in South Africa
Their tenacity in one of the toughest places to play Test rugby has been impressive. Wales should have won the opener but were gruesomely denied at death. They won the second game even though they didn’t play that well. Now it’s time for a Cape Town decision.
“We put a lot into this Tour, we took our socks off,” said Biggar, who brushed off a shoulder concern to lead Wales again on Saturday.
“It would be great to get a full reward. This is our last week of the season so we can give it our all. Hopefully we can enjoy a good break with some positive memories from this trip.
Biggar has sidestepped a shoulder problem to lead Wales again on Saturday
“It will come down to small margins again. It’s about being disciplined and putting in an 80-minute performance. “We were really good in the first two tests. We didn’t give the Springboks too many cheap points or cheap entries. If we’re as clinical as we’ve been over the past two weeks, we’ll be in with a hoot.
Wales have won just seven of their 39 Tests with South Africa but their record against the Springboks since the 2015 World Cup is impressive. Of the eight Tests between the two sides during that period, Wales have won five.
South Africa clinched victory at the crucial point – the 2019 World Cup semifinals in Yokohama. But in those eight games, the average gap between teams was just under five points.
“Whenever we play South Africa we don’t want to give them too much to put their teeth into early goals,” said Biggar. “Play the game in the right part of the field. If you do, you limit the chances you give them. So we have a decent record against them.’
A record that will make history if they win.
