Cape Town - The Springboks’ chances of ending a four-match losing streak to Wales in Cardiff received a major boost on Tuesday evening, with captain Alun Wyn Jones and top loose forwards Taulupe Faletau and Ross Moriarty ruled out of Saturday’s clash.
Jones hurt his left shoulder once more in last week’s 54-16 loss to the All Blacks at the Principality Stadium, the same injury he sustained against Japan that put his participation in doubt for the British and Irish Lions series in South Africa earlier this year.
The 36-year-old lock made a remarkable recovery to play in all three Tests against the Boks, putting in an inspirational performance to lead the Lions to victory in the first Cape Town Stadium match, before the South Africans roared back to clinch the series 2-1.
But there will be no miracle comeback this time for Jones, who played in his 149th Test for Wales against New Zealand, which surpassed the previous world record of 148 Tests for one team held by Kiwi legend Richie McCaw – while Jones has 12 Lions Test caps as well.
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He went in to tackle All Black fullback Jordie Barrett in the 19th minute last weekend, and had to go off. The Welsh Rugby Union said in a statement late on Tuesday night that he will require surgery, and faces an “estimated recovery period of a number of months”.
Big loose forward Moriarty suffered the same fate, sustaining a right shoulder injury in the first quarter against New Zealand as well after carrying the ball and being tackled by flank Ethan Blackadder and prop Nepo Laulala.
In a third blow, experienced No 8 and flank Faletau was ruled out with an ankle injury that he picked up in training for his English club Bath.
All three players are key figures in the Welsh pack, and their physicality in particular will be missed against the powerful Bok forwards.
There were a few positives for the home side, though, with fullback Liam Williams and flyhalf Dan Biggar back in the mix after missing the All Black game through injury and club commitments respectively, while centre Willis Halaholo also returns after recovering from Covid-19.
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Wales coach Wayne Pivac will announce his match-23 on Thursday.
The Boks last won in Cardiff in 2013 under then-coach Heyneke Meyer, but have since lost four Tests in a row in the Welsh capital in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
In between, there have been South African triumphs over Wales at the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups.
“That (SA record in Wales) must solely go to the quality of the Welsh team and the fortress they have here in Cardiff,” Bok coach Jacques Nienaber said this week.
“It’s just a fortress for them. The atmosphere in the stadium is tremendous, the fans carry them, and you grow an extra arm and a leg. It’s a very proud team and country, with a very rich rugby tradition, which is why it is so tough to beat Wales here.
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“They were missing a lot of players (against New Zealand last week), but I can’t speculate until they announce their team, as they might go with the same team or bring in seven players returning.
“If there is a possibility of seven changes, it can possibly be a completely different side to the one that played against the All Blacks.
“One thing I can read into that performance is that there are some exciting young players coming through the Welsh youth system.
“The Wales I saw in the Six Nations was pretty much what I saw from Wales at the 2019 World Cup. They can almost swap between styles.
“But from the younger side, I saw a slightly different style of play. I think they are in a place of transition, and will probably play the style that the conditions will allow, and what we will allow.
“When I coached against Wayne (Pivac, Wales coach) when he was at the Scarlets and I was at Munster, that was always the challenge against him – you never knew what type of game you’re going to get.”
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