Where to watch South Africa vs Wales
Live on S4C & Sky Sports Action, 2pm Saturday
Best bet
Over 56 points
1pt 11-10 bet365
South Africa vs Wales predictions
It’s been a tough year for Wales after a young team shorn of a host of big names finished bottom of the Six Nations table, and things may get harder still against a strong South Africa side at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wales head to Australia for two Tests after this one-off clash but while it is tempting to think the teams might treat it as a runaround, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is not renowned for his sense of fun and will be looking ahead to August’s Rugby Championship.
This is a fixture that was known for close-fought battles – seven consecutive Tests from 2017 to 2022 were settled by a single-figure margin, four of them in Wales’s favour – but the pendulum has swung the other way since.
The Boks sealed their home series against Wales with a 30-14 victory in Cape Town in 2022 then ran out 52-16 winners in a World Cup warm-up in Cardiff last August, and the handicap is set at 20 points.
South Africa went on to win the World Cup in the autumn through their no-frills, uncompromising approach, and while there is no repeat of the infamous seven-to-one split of forwards to backs on the bench, it’s unlikely they will deviate far from their game plan.
Jordan Hendrikse is a new face at fly-half for the Boks while skipper Siya Kolisi is unavailable, but the Bok squad still features ten players from the World Cup final and they should prove far too strong.
However, rather than backing the favourites to cover the 20-point line it may pay to bet on the points line.
South Africa topped 50 points against Wales the last time the teams met and would be expected to do the bulk of the scoring again, but there’s likely to be some drop in intensity too and Wales could add a couple of scores themselves.
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