Rugby
Wales look to put pressure on Jantjies and De Klerk─── MORGAN PIEK 08:09 Fri, 01 Jul 2022
The Welsh captain, Dan Biggar, is relishing the head-to-head battle with Elton Jantjies tomorrow during the first Test against the Springboks in Pretoria.
The British & Irish Lions pivot has played against both Jantjies and Handré Pollard in the past at international level.
Jantjies cracked the nod ahead of Pollard when Jacques Nienaber named his team for the Test on Tuesday.
Biggar said to control Jantjies they will have to dominate the Springbok pack.
“I’ve played against Elton quite a few times and he’s got all the tricks in his skill set, hasn’t he, in terms of his kicking and passing game. We’re fully aware of what he brings," said Biggar.
“Handré brings a real control and territory-based game and he makes very few mistakes.
“Elton has got pretty decent eight guys in front of him in that pack. If we can create some problems for the forward pack, we can make his life a lot more difficult. The same goes for Faf de Klerk.
“If we don’t get the upper hand there or stem the flow from there, as you have to against any South African team you play, then most nines and 10s are going to have a pretty good afternoon.”
Saturday’s Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria will kick-off at 17:05.
Springboks – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché.
Replacements – 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Willie le Roux.
Wales - 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar (captain), 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements - 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Owen Watkin.
