Can Wales topple mighty South Africa? Talking points ahead of the opening Test

Wales face their toughest task of Wayne Pivac’s coaching reign with a three-Test series against world champions South Africa.

Pivac’s team play in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town, starting on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, where they will be greeted by a 50,000 capacity crowd.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some key talking points heading into the game.

Three games against the Springboks in South Africa, with two of those at altitude, provide a fierce examination for Wales. They suffered a chastening 22-21 Guinness Six Nations home defeat against Italy last time out and have never toppled South Africa on home soil, losing all 10 previous encounters. Three of those defeats were in Pretoria – by scorelines of 37-21, 53-18 and 96-13 – which underlines how big a task awaits them. Even though it was eight years ago, Wales can take heart from a one-point loss against the Springboks in Nelspruit on their last visit, with six survivors from that encounter featuring in Pivac’s match-day 23, but South Africa are clear favourites.

It has been a long time coming, but South Africa will play in front of a sold-out home crowd for the first time since they were crowned world champions 32 months ago. The coronavirus pandemic meant last year’s Test series against the British and Irish Lions took place behind closed doors, and demand for Saturday’s clash saw remaining tickets snapped up more than 96 hours before kick-off. The Springboks’ overall record in Pretoria is better than at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, where they won the 1995 World Cup under Francois Pienaar’s captaincy, which underlines Wales’ acute degree of difficulty.

Welsh entertainer Max Boyce wrote a song in the 1970s called The Outside-Half Factory, which reflected