The Springboks are in a commanding position after opening the competition with back-to-back victories over England and Scotland. They made a powerful statement with a 45-21 win over England at Ellis Park before following it up with a convincing 42-28 victory against Scotland in Pretoria.

Wales, meanwhile, opened their campaign with a 39-24 win over Fiji before suffering a 35-21 defeat to Argentina last weekend.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels, André-Hugo Venter, and Cobus Reinach are all products of Grey College. Photo: Morgan Piek

While Wales have endured a difficult few years, history shows they are still capable of causing an upset. Their only victory over the Springboks on South African soil came on 9 July 2022, when they edged the world champions 13-12 at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.

Although South Africa will field a much-changed side, with four players making their Test debuts, the Springboks remain overwhelming favourites. Even so, Reinach insists reputations and recent results count for very little once the whistle blows.

Rugby has a habit of producing surprises, and the experienced scrumhalf believes the Boks must respect a Welsh side representing one of the game's proudest rugby nations.

Despite South Africa's confidence after two impressive performances, Reinach admitted the Springboks were not entirely satisfied with aspects of their display against Scotland and are targeting another step forward this weekend.

“We have a big kicking game - we try to attack through the air and sometimes we win the balls back and sometimes we don’t,” said the former Sharks scrumhalf.

“Then you have to look at the video and realise what you need to work on. Against Scotland we probably could have kicked more, but they’re a team that, when they get the ball, they hold it for a long time.

Cobus Reinach. Photo: Morgan Piek

“So you don’t always get the opportunity to kick. We adapted and found a way.”

The 36-year-old, who has earned more than 50 Test caps, said the Springboks refuse to dwell on previous results, insisting their focus remains firmly on improving with every outing.

“We don’t talk about what we’ve done before - we focus on what we need to do now to get better as a squad. There’s always work to do,” said the Bloemfontein-born halfback.

“What has happened can change in the blink of an eye. If we don’t pitch up this weekend, it can happen again. They can turn us over, so we know we have to be 100%.”

The day the Welsh humbled the world champions with a 13-12 win in Bloemfontein. Photo: Morgan Piek

“It doesn’t matter who you play or where you play them. It’s all about us, our standards and what we want to put out on that field.”

With momentum building and competition for places intensifying ahead of the Rugby Championship, the Springboks will be determined to maintain their winning run and deliver another polished performance in front of a passionate Durban crowd.

Saturday's Test between the Springboks and Wales at Kings Park kicks off at 17:40.

Springboks – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp

Replacements – 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Damian Willemse

Wales  – TBA

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvdw