Five things the Boks need to avoid ahead of Wales exam

The Springboks have on paper what looks to be the easiest Southern Hemisphere assignment in the form of hosting Wales.

England is in Australia for what promises to be a tight series while New Zealand are hosting Ireland.

Wales have never won a Test in South Africa and lost four out of their five Six Nations matches recently. 

The Springboks, who will be playing in front of a home crowd for the first time at Loftus Versfeld next week, should see off the Dragons.

However, these are the things they need to watch out for.

Taine Basham

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was effusive in his praise of the loose-forward when the Boks beat Wales in Cardiff last year for the first time since 2013.

Basham had just returned from a long-term injury and asked serious questions from a breakdown and support-running perspective.

Basham, though, has question marks hanging over his head, starting with how Wales coach Wayne Pivac has shown confidence in him being selected ahead of in-form Ospreys loose-forward Jac Morgan.

At 95kg, he's on the smaller side and tends to be injury-prone, but he is also a wonderfully effective player.

Basham will have a point to prove and will have to do so against the world champions.

Over-confidence

None of the Welsh sides in the United Rugby Championship came close to upsetting the South African applecart.

Only the Scarlets and Cardiff recorded wins against South African opposition and when they were in South Africa, they were generally swept off the park.

However, franchise form has never been an indicator of the excellence of a national team, with Australia's rag-tag franchises often cobbling up enough players for a competitive national team.

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber has repeatedly warned about complacency and not taking