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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Matthew Southcombe

Wales rugby players visit Soweto township on day off amid emotional trip to Nelson Mandela's house

A group of Wales' players took time on their day off to visit the township of Soweto and former residence of President Nelson Mandela.

Captain Dan Biggar, Josh Navidi, Dillon Lewis and Taulupe Faletau were joined by head coach Wayne Pivac and members of the management team on the visit, where they entered Mandela's former house, which is now a museum.

Mandela, who also spent time renting in the nearby township of Alexandra, lived at the property for 16 years up until 1962, when he was arrested and imprisoned. Upon his release in 1990, he returned to the property. Players and staff were able to see original items at the house, which still shows the damage left by various attacks, including bullet holes and arson damage.

READ MORE: Tommy Reffell breaks silence on stunning debut

During a day off last week, players and staff took the opportunity to visit the local safari park, getting up close and personal with giraffes, keeping their distance from the lions.

These visits are signs of changing times for players who were in this country during the Lions tour last season, when they were confined to their hotel rooms for long periods when they were not in training.

Josh Navidi during a tour of Nelson Mandelas House (Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Dillon Lewis taking a closer look at a painting of Nelson Mandela (Huw Evans Picture Agency)

Tomorrow, the squad will be back in training just outside Johannesburg as they continue preparations for the second Test. In less than 24 hours, Wales boss Pivac will reveal his side for the match and the squad will then travel to Bloemfontein for their second crack at the Springboks on Saturday.

Wales are 1-0 down in the series after letting an 18-3 lead slip at Loftus Versfeld last weekend, eventually losing the match 32-29 with a last-minute penalty from Damian Willemse.

South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber has made 14 changes to his starting side this week as he experiments with one eye on the Rugby World Cup next year.

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