Most of Wales will be hiding behind the sofa on Saturday but Wayne Pivac can't wait to take on the Springboks.
Pivac's position as head coach has been questioned since a poor Six Nations ended with a chastening defeat to Italy, their first ever against the Azzurri in Cardiff.
Wales have been written off ahead of this three-Test tour but Pivac is quietly confident his side can shock the Boks. “We were embarrassed by that last performance, there's no hiding from that,” he said.
“We are a better team than that. We need to go out and show that in the first Test and back it up with strong performances in the second, and third.
That's certainly what we are going to try to achieve.
“Nobody likes finishing on a sour note with a poor performance. It's a long time between drinks as they say. We'll be doing what we think we need to do to try to win the First Test, and then set ourselves up for a great series.”
If Wales are to triumph in the First Test, they will have to emerge victorious at the scene of the most humiliating result in their history. In 1998 they were slaughtered 96-13 by a ruthless Boks outfit at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria in what remains the heaviest defeat Wales have endured in Test match rugby.
If recent form is anything to go by then Jacques Nienaber's side could rack up a cricket score, but Wales have won five of their last nine matches against the Boks, and Pivac says they can do it again.
“History says we haven't done well there, clearly,” said Pivac. “In some camps they'd say you've got everything to gain and nothing to lose. From our point of view, we take every Test match seriously.
“In the past Wales have had a very good kicking game and a very good defensive game and have been able to negate some of the strengths South Africa bring. You've got to be good under the hight ball, there's going to be a lot of kicking, a lot of clatter, and you've got to fight for everything in those areas of the game.
“Wales have been good at doing that. Hopefully, we'll continue to be good at that, and that'll put some pressure on them.”
Most experts are expecting Wales to get overpowered up front, with their set-piece a potential weakness given tighthead Tomas Francis is carrying a back injury which has prompted Pivac to call up uncapped novices Sam Wainwright (Saracens), and Harri O'Connor (Scarlets).
But Pivac insists they are close to turning a corner: “There was some good stuff that came out of the Six Nations let's not forget that. What we need to do from a team perspective is focus on the good stuff we put out there, build on it, and make sure we have that on a regular basis over 80 minutes week in week out. That's the challenge for us. We do know how well we can play when we put it together.”
