By Brenden Nel.
Wales coach Wayne Pivac was overjoyed by the news that his captain Dan Biggar and prop DilLewis have both been declared fit for Saturday’s third test decider in Cape Town.
Pivac said the two players had been carefully managed and came through the training session on Thursday without any issues, meaning they could take their place on Friday and leave Wales with only one forced change – that of Alex Cuthbert – for the final test.
“Very pleased, obviously – they are two key players for us. The medical team I’ve got to say did a fantastic job. Both of them had a light early part of the week, but came through that and trained today so we’re very pleased, “Pivac said, adding that the players showed no discomfort in the training sessions.
“They ticked those boxes today – they’ve just got a captain’s run left and they will take part in that. Everything is in place for Saturday.”
Pivac added that the consistency in selection was a major factor for his side as they looked to go one step further from their historic first-ever win in South Africa last weekend and look to win their first series against the current World Champions.
“That’s what we wanted to achieve, we wanted to get some combinations going and reward good performance. We have been able to do that. The main thing for us now is to make sure the boys have petrol in the tank to go for Saturday. This week has been a bit of an adjustment from last week – we had a few banged up boys but obviously it is a big occasion on Saturday. It is one that all the boys are looking forward to. We would like to think the effort will be there as it has been in the first three weeks,” he added.
And the Welsh coach was coy about whether the Bok selection – many of whom missed out on the second test – would be fresher and more rested when the physical confrontation comes.
“We will see on Saturday, won’t we? But clearly they’ve had a week to freshen up and our boys have gone pretty much toe to toe with two different sides over the last two weeks. We will be physically ready. It is not the mental challenge for us to get up and go again after the excitement of the last few minutes of last weekend.
“Clearly we celebrated that and now it is a matter of getting back out there and going – there is one more big game and clearly there is an opportunity for both sides to win a series, so there is a lot to play for.”
South Africa, who won the first Test 32-29 in Pretoria, announced 10 changes on Tuesday to the side that started the match in Bloemfontein with captain and flanker Siya Kolisi among those recalled.
Wales team: Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar (capt), Kieran Hardy; Taulupe Faletau, Tommy Reffell, Dan Lydiate; Adam Beard, Will Rowlands; Dillon Lewis, Ryan Elias, Gareth Thomas. Bench: Dewi Lake, Wyn Jones, Sam Wainwright, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Owen Watkin