The Boks will get their international season underway in Pretoria this week and it will also be their start to the build-up of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

The Welsh came to South Africa with a fairly under-strength team and it’s especially upfront where they may find the going to be quite tough.

The Welsh coach, Wayne Pivac, feels the scrum battle will be a good learning curve for his young front-rowers.

“It's always a concern if things don't go well but there's also the opportunity for young players to learn a hell of a lot and grow," said Pivac about his prop stocks.

“There's no better learning than going up against the best in the world in any sport.

“At that moment, you'd have to say South Africa's scrum has probably shown that it's consistently the best in the world.

“Their lineout drive is superb and their forward play is probably second to none. They're not world champions for nothing; they're very good at what they do.

“If you're a young guy on tour coming up against that, you're going to learn a lot and how much work you've got to do to get to that level.

“Hopefully, you're going to go well and start what could be a very long career for yourself. It's an exciting tour for any youngster going on a tour like this, I believe.”

Saturday’s 1st Test at Loftus Versfeld kicks off at 17:05.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport