Dan Biggar is hoping to "stick two fingers" up to Wales’ critics when they take on world champions South Africa on Saturday.
It will be the first outing for Wayne Pivac’s side since they lost 22-21 to Italy on the final day of the Six Nations. The fallout from that game was ugly, with heavy criticism flowing the way of the players amid calls for head coach Wayne Pivac to lose his job.
Few are giving Wales a chance of getting a victory in their three-Test series, which kicks off in Pretoria this weekend.
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A victory on the Highveld would make Biggar the only Welsh captain in history to lead his side to victory in South Africa. When asked what that would mean to him, he said: “Everything. It’s been a tough couple of months off the back of the Six Nations and I suppose to stick two fingers up to people, without putting too fine of a point on it, would be really nice.
“If you listened to it all we might as well have packed our swim shorts and come on holiday for three weeks. From our point of view we have no control on what gets written outside of our camp.
“It’s about starting well but it’s about being realistic. There is no doubt we are going in as underdogs and everything you have seen so far over the last few months... all the signs point to South Africa.
“I think as a nation, that’s when we come alive. We want to make sure we put some pride back into the jersey and we didn’t quite do that in the last outing. It will tell you a lot about players and characters and it’s important we start well and get into it.”
Adding to Wales’ challenge is the fact that Saturday’s match will be the first time South Africa play in front of their own fans since they became world champions in 2019. A bubbling atmosphere is expected at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld.
Biggar added: "Rightly so the South African are getting lauded and the contrast in fortunes between the two teams at the minute.
"We played them in the autumn and they probably had a slightly stronger side than what they have named for Saturday.
"There were no egos about any of the boys here, we just tore in and got stuck in. It feels like a bit of a common theme and we were unlucky not to get the job done.
"There is certainly no fear, it's just about making sure we bar up physically. All these players, Kolisi, Faf de Klerk, Wiese, these boys are tremendous players, individually and when they come together.
"But if we spend all week bigging them up you almost believe it yourself. It's about making sure we park that and making sure we get stuck it into it from the word go."
The Wales camp has repeatedly stated the importance of starting well this weekend, with Biggar insisting they cannot be "blown away" in the opening quarter like they were in Durban in 2014 and in Ireland earlier this year. The issue is that the majority of the side have not played for six weeks. As such, training has been more physical than normal so players are prepared for the physical confrontation which awaits them.
“Ultimately, there is very little you can do in terms of being match-sharp,” Biggar said. “If you haven’t played for six weeks, then you need a little bit more in training to get yourself back up for it.
“Mentally, I remember when we played Ireland that Taine Basham was outstanding that day. So if he can produce and make sure he’s at that intensity, then there’s no reason why the other 22 guys can’t.
“It’s about individual mentality. You either want to be there and get stuck in and drive yourself through the pain barrier or you don’t. We’ll find out on Saturday if we’ve got a few boys who have that.”
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