Question: Dillon Lewis and Dan Biggar looked doubtful last week – how pleased are you that they’ve come through?
Wayne Pivac: Yeah very pleased, obviously, two key players for us. I’ve got to say the medical team have done a fantastic job. They had a light part of the week but trained today and came through that well, so very pleased.
Q: Do they have to tick any more boxes before Saturday?
WP: No, they ticked those today. We’ve just got a captain’s run left and they’ll take part in that, so everything is in place for Saturday.
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Q: How important has it been for you to have a settled 23 on this tour?
WP: That’s what we wanted to achieve, we wanted to get some combinations going and start rewarding good performances. We’ve been able to do that. The main thing for us is making sure the boys have petrol in the tank ready to go for Saturday. This week’s been a bit of adjustment to last week, a few boys are banged up, but obviously it’s a big occasion on Saturday and one the players are looking forward to. We would like to think that the effort will be there as it has been in the first two Tests.
Q: The Springboks have reshuffled again, how important will their freshness be?
WP: We’ll see on Saturday but clearly they’ve had a week to freshen up. Our boys have gone toe to toe with two different sides over the last two weeks. We’ll be physically ready, and now it’s a big mental challenge for us to get up and go again after the excitement of last week. Clearly we celebrated that and now it’s a matter of getting back out there and going ‘there’s one more big game and an opportunity to win a series’, so there’s a lot to play for.
Q: George North will become Wales’ most capped back on Saturday, sum up that milestone?
WP: Well, Stephen (Jones) didn’t want to select him this week for some reason, it was a two-one vote!
On a serious note, he’s been a marvellous player for us, a big player for years and years. To come back from the serious injury he’s had, I’m just pleased that he’s out there and he’ll get to go on the big stage again for us. To play 105 Tests is a marvellous achievement, so he becomes the most-capped back and third-most of all time.
Q: What would it mean to win the series?
WP: It would mean the world to the team. They’ve worked very hard to get into this position. We’re very pleased to come into this week with something to play for, which in the past hasn’t happened. For us, as I said earlier, it’s about getting it right mentally now. It’s been three big, hard weeks. It’s a massive Test match, we know that, but to be in the race is very pleasing.
Q: How different is this week when there is something on the line compared to it being a dead rubber?
WP: It’s huge. It’s like in any sport, Davis Cup a dead rubber. The match still gets played but it doesn’t quite have the same significance.
This Test series, the first two Tests if they are anything to go by, then throwing a Test series decider in just adds a little bit of spice to it.
I’m really happy that the guys have got this opportunity. Now it is a matter of going out there and doing the game justice.
Q: South Africa have freshened up and you’re a little banged up – is that significant?
WP: I think we both came into the series wanting to achieve the same thing which is win a series but I think we are at different parts of our season. For us it is around now getting some continuity.
For South Africa it is around looking at their squad at what they’ve got coming up. We go into a break now before starting the season run-in to the World Cup. We are at slightly different ends of the spectrum, so I understand exactly what they did by doing that. Yes, they’ve got a fresh squad obviously. It will be a test for both sides. We’d like to think we’ve got a bit of continuity, and the boys have played together.
This is the third week of training together so hopefully that’s going to stand us in good stead.
Q: You were underdogs before the first Test, then the pressure was on your in Test two, now you’re the underdogs again?
WP: If we put the first two Tests behind us now and just look at this as a one-off game, and a winner-takes-all series win.
I think there’ll be pressure on the home team there’s no doubt about that because going in they were red-hot favourites weren’t they?
To be taken to the last game, I think that adds a little bit of spice, and a little bit of pressure. Certainly, they are a quality team.
If you look at the team sheet it’s close to the team we played in the first Test, and that was a humdinger. Both squads have been together a bit longer now.
It’s going to be a fair old challenge for us we know that but one that I think all the soreness, and the tiredness of the tour goes out of the window when you get that adrenaline, and kick-off comes.
Q: There is a bit of consternation about the pitch possibly cutting up on Saturday – are you concerned about that?
WP: We know that to be the case and we’ve certainly been told that on a number of occasions. That may affect scrums.
Both sides will catch up with the referee between now and kick-off time. Hopefully, if that is happening, they are a little bit sympathetic for the players.
Certainly, both teams have got to play on the same pitch so it’s irrelevant really. It’s the same for both sides.
Q: Last week you held your fire under the last 15 minutes, will you have similar tactics this week?
WP: It certainly wasn’t the intention to come hard at the end. We certainly tried to get the start we had in the first Test, and we are no different this weekend.
We will need to get a good start, we know that, so if we could replicate anything like the first Test (start) we will be very, very happy.
It was also good to finish the game strongly after the week before when our discipline cost us. It was probably role-reversal, really. Both sides will want to achieve the same thing this week - a good start, a disciplined performance and try to get some sort of control early.
If we can stay in it and be there at the end, our fitness levels are good, we have got a lot to play for and we would fancy ourselves in the closing stages if the game is tight.
Can Wales pull it off and beat South Africa again? Have your say in the comments below
Q: Is there one area that you think will decide the Test?
WP: Nothing has changed in terms of the Springboks having a very powerful scrum, a very good driven lineout, so for us what has to happen is that we have to have a disciplined display, make sure we don’t give away the silly penalties we did in the first Test, and certainly the yellow cards have plagued us. We want to make sure we can tighten that up, and if we can play 15 players versus 15, we will be very happy.
Q: Could you target Jaden Hendrikse at scrum-half?
WP: We will try to put pressure on South Africa across the board from the first whistle where we can. He (Hendrikse) played well in the second Test, I thought. To have a world-class player like Faf [de Klerk] to come on and see the game out, I guess the first two Tests have been pretty close, when we played in Cardiff it was very close, and they have all gone down to that last 5-10 minutes.
So to have probably one of the best half-backs in the world seeing the game out is probably not a bad situation to be in. They have both played well in the series.
Q: On your own scrum-half, was it a close call between Kieran Hardy and Tomos Williams?
WP: We think that Kieran has been doing a great job with the kicking side of the game. His general play has been pretty good. We are comfortable with him starting three matches in a series, and we want more of the same. Tomos, we think if the game is tight towards the end he offers something a little bit different and can spark things, so we think it is the right way to go for this particular series.
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