As Wales touched down in Johannesburg on Friday morning, they'd probably have done well not to pick up a copy of the local newspaper.
Few in South Africa credit Wales with any hope of winning against the Springboks, with a similar number back home likely thinking the same. The world champions go into this three Test series as overwhelming favourites, even if 2021 wasn't a vintage year by any means. Sure, they defeated Warren Gatland's Lions, but over the course of the year, their win percentage was just 61.53% - marginally better than Wales' in 2021.
The Lions won the first Test, Australia beat them twice and New Zealand and England picked up wins against them as well. They're a world class team undoubtedly, but there are areas where they can be targeted.
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Beyond the non-negotiables of fronting up and matching them physically, here are some areas where Wales might get some success.
Kicking battle remains the key
Few things seem to draw the ire of rugby fans more than kicking. Many see it as pointless, placing greater stock in keeping ball in hand and trying to break down hardened defences - an admirable, if not entirely practical, notion in terms of risk versus reward.
Such is the disdain endless kicking has in the modern game, this week saw American comedian Orny Adams go viral for a video bemoaning the constant putting of boot to ball. Adams, for those unaware of his work, is best-known for being the real-life example of a struggling comedian in comparison to Jerry Seinfeld's established superstar in the latter's 2002 documentary, Comedian.
It's a rough watch when it comes to seeing Adams struggling to work his way up the comedy ladder and refer to himself in the third person, but still, at least he's got an eye for rugby. Unfortunately for Adams though, the kicking game will once again be key. Thousands of words were dedicated to the aerial battle during last year's Lions tour. Nothing's really changed since.
The Lions won that first Test by getting on top of South Africa in the kicking battle. This Springbok side isn't likely to run in tries from halfway against you, but they certainly won't allow you to do that either.
They'll look to the air to assert their dominance, but if you beat them there - and they are fallible in the back-three - then you can get the upper hand. It's certainly an easier way of gaining possession and territory than trying to run through a green brick wall for 80 minutes.
Keeping the ball in the air provides Pivac's side with the best chance of getting front-foot ball from knockdowns or clean takes, while, if the pill is kept on the park, it largely negates South Africa's dominant lineout. England did it to great effect in the autumn, starting the match by getting on top from the boot.
They kicked to compete, but varied their kicks. They followed up a simple up-and-under with a crossfield kick for Joe Marchant to chase, identifying where the space was and manipulating the defence accordingly.
In Dan Biggar, Wales have a fly-half capable of doing that. In the 2019 World Cup semi-final, Biggar varied his kicking nicely and Wales were all the more competitive for it. We perhaps didn't always see that last year in the Lions series.
The crossfield bomb has become an aimless out for Wales when progress with ball in hand has stalled - with a front-five forward like Alun Wyn Jones often in pursuit due to the pod structure. In South Africa, kicks like that will likely come earlier in phase play and will be better organised.
Rather than being off the back-foot, those sorts of kicks will need to come off the momentum of winning the initial aerial battle.
Being smart with South Africa's strengths
One of South Africa's biggest strengths is their defensive blitz. The Lions found out to their detriment when, in last year's first Test, they pushed it out the back to Elliot Daly - only for the English centre to be caught man and ball by Lukhanyo Am.
The aggressiveness of the Springbok centre - and winger Makazole Mapimpi outside him - is an obvious strength for the Boks. If they're winning collisions, as is often the case, the relentless nature of their blitzing makes life impossible for the opposition attack.
But, that aggression can be worked against them. England's second try in the autumn came from England packing midfield with options around Henry Slade off first phase, then firing it out to Freddie Steward when Am and Mapimpi were drawn in by those options.
The Lions also had success there in the third Test when Finn Russell looked to find wider channels. Had the tourists converted those opportunities during that spell of pressure, we'd likely look at that series and the Boks in a different light.
Even Wales and their faltering attack found ways to get around the Boks' blitz. Were it not for an errant pitch invader, the result of their autumn meeting might have gone the other way.
But at least Wales identified how to find the edge, only for one stray bloke from L33 to close the space down just as effectively as the Springbok scramble defence.
In fairness, the Boks' cover defence do a decent job of shutting things down. However, if you can get around them, there's naturally less time for them to re-set.
However, to get back to that, the use of Biggar in motion - one of Stephen Jones' key phrases in camp - and a proper connection between forward pods and backs will need to be on the money.
The other area of strength is the Springboks' scrum. Given Wales currently have two uncapped tight-heads in Johannesburg, it's an area few would care to think about too closely.
Given South Africa's penchant for dominant scrums, it's hard to see this facet of the game going any other way but to the benefit of the hosts. However, despite their dominance in this area of the game, some sides have had success against them.
The Wallabies got on top last year, getting calls from the referee even when they weren't driving the Boks off the park, while England were smart in identifying South Africa's eagerness for early engagement and milking penalties from that.
Wales will simply want to get out of the scrums alive in South Africa, but there's clearly some narratives around the Boks set-piece which the Welsh pack can lean on to present a more favourable picture to the officials.
Ignore the noise
The recent Two Sides documentary offered an interesting insight into the psyche of South African rugby. Despite their media's relatively justified insistence that their national team sits in this unique space as the world's best side, playing a brand of rugby unlike any other nation, it was clear that the camp still believe they're viewed as less than by the outside world.
Rassie Erasmus bemoaned how the Lions players had been overhyped by the media, while there just appeared to be a general 'us against the world' mentality in how the coaching staff communicated throughout the Lions tour. That's understandable, given their brand of rugby and the 'anti-rugby' jibes they're occasionally hit with.
However, at times, that bordered on a full on persecution complex, with supporters quickly buying into the idea that referees were judging the Springboks harshly in the wake of Erasmus' hour-long leaked breakdown of officiating decisions.
Given the lack of respect shown for Wales so far in the media, the Boks will struggle to play the underdog card this time around. But, with Nienaber having already called Wales 'desperate', there's bound to be plenty of noise in the coming weeks.
How South Africa try to cultivate a narrative after being the underdogs for so long, even for the Lions series as the recent documentary went to great lengths to show, will be interesting.
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