Africa-Press – South-Africa. Wales coach Wayne Pivac said they hadn’t paid too much attention to the raft of changes Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber made for the second Test between the sides in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Nienaber, whose side prevailed 32-29 in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld last week, made 14 changes to that particular run-on side and 19 overall for the match-day 23.
Pivac, who made just one change to his side, with Alex Cuthbert coming in for Josh Adams, said they’re only worried about their performance.
“Our point is how we can improve. We’re at the end of the season and our cycle and they’re at the start of theirs,” Pivac said.
“They have depth and they’ll come out very strongly. At the end of the day, it is about what we can control and it’s about our performance.”
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Wales flyhalf and captain Dan Biggar said the several changes Nienaber has made have brought in a much match-sharper group as compared to the 23 they faced in Pretoria last week.
“If you look at the players they picked, those are the in-form players, even though last week’s side had a lot of World Cup winners,” Biggar said.
“There’s Handre Pollard at 10 and he controls the game very well, but they have very much picked their in-form players.
“When I saw the changes, I first looked at who they brought in, and I was surprised initially. However, we make changes like that almost every autumn.
“There’s nothing in it for me and they can pick who they want.”
Pivac, though remained wary of the much-changed Bok group they’ll be facing in the City of Roses, especially with how they don’t quite know the group they’re facing from a collective perspective.
Pivac also applauded Nienaber for making the kind of changes he made, saying players generally make the most of those opportunities.
“We’re not sure what’s coming, but the one thing we do know is that we’re not sure the players have played together,” Pivac said.
“However, we do need to have a bit more discipline, but we did some good work despite the defeat.
“Also, it’s a big pat on the back to be able to pick this kind of a squad, and get results with that squad will be a pat on the back for the coach.
“That squad is full of enthusiasm, ambition, and intensity, and more than often, when players get a chance like that, they tend to use it.”
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