South Africa has almost always had the wood over Wales in the rugby arena.
The Springboks have won 36 of their 44 Test matches since their first meeting in 1906.
In stark contrast, Wales have won just seven times, and there was one draw (back in 1970).
South Africa has had a couple of massive blowouts against the Welsh – 96–13 at Loftus Versfeld in 1998 and 73-0 in Cardiff last November (both unwanted away and home records).
However, there have also been some cliff-hangers, especially in their three World Cup encounters.
South Africa won all three by four points or fewer.
In the 2011 pool match, South Africa edged Wales 17–16.
In their 2015 quarterfinal, a late Fourie du Preez try broke Welsh hearts to finish 23–19.
Then there was the dramatic 2019 semifinal, when Handré Pollard kicked a 76th-minute penalty to win 19–16 in Yokohama, sending the Boks to the Final.
The two matches that I want to focus on are Wales’ only win on South African soil (in 2022), when the Boks made wholesale changes, and Wales hung on for a deserved 13-12 victory in Bloemfontein.
Then there was last November’s 73-point blowout in Cardiff.
When they go head-to-head at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, in a Round Three Nations Championship fixture, five Springboks and six Welshmen from the Bloemfontein thriller are still around.
The ‘memories’ of that encounter have been a topic of many discussions this week.
The Boks that will play in the Shark Tank and were involved in the battle of Bloem are Pieter-Steph du Toit, Evan Roos, Aphelele Fassi, Jesse Kriel and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Louis Rees-Zammit, Adam Beard, Dillon Lewis, Gareth Thomas, current captain Dewi Lake and Josh Adams all have fond memories of the 2022 encounter.
It was a raw, inexperienced team put out by Jacques Nienaber, the then Bok coach.
Rynhardt Elstadt (three caps), Jaden Hendrikse, Fassi (both two) and Joseph Dweba (one) were new Boks, while Roos, Arendse, Ntuthukho Mchunu, Deon Fourie, Ruan Nortjé and Grant Williams all made their debuts.
With four uncapped players – Jaco Williams, Vusi Moyo, Ruben van Heerden and Carlu Sadie – as well as another four with single-digit caps (Paul de Villiers, Cobus Wiese, Andre-Hugo Venter and Ben-Jason Dixon), the Bok team in Durban on Saturday will have a similarly eerie green and susceptible feel to it as the class of 2022.
With 556 caps in the starting XV and another 189 coming off the bench, it compares well to the 558 (starting XV) and 191 (bench) of the Welsh.
The difference, the big difference, is that this Welsh team has been together through the Six Nations and three subsequent matches.
They are familiar with each other.
It is in stark contrast to what happened in Cardiff last November.
The Bok starting XV in Cardiff had 526 caps and another 305 coming off the bench.
It was a dishevelled Wales, on an 18-match losing streak, that edged Japan before suffering further heavy losses to New Zealand and South Africa.
The Boks were a settled unit, and even without some regulars (the match was outside the Test window), the visitors just had too much firepower.
Springboks returning from that Cardiff annihilation include Damian de Allende, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Andre-Hugo Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Wilco Louw, Ben-Jason Dixon, Marco van Staden and Damian Willemse.
Only Blair Murray, Ben Thomas, Dan Edwards, captain Dewi Lake, Alex Mann, Aaron Wainwright and Reuben Morgan-Williams return for Wales from the Cardiff
carnage.
I have an uneasy feeling about this Welsh team, which may not be the most consistent, but has shown glimpses of a revival.
If the Boks are off-key, we may have another disturbing upset.
Watch Hemispheres collide as North faces South in the brand new Nations Championship. Live matches, replays and highlights free on RugbyPass TV here
