Opinion: Welsh whitewash key to Springbok evolution ahead of Rugby Championship

Jacques Nienaber’s selections and strategies for a crucial Rugby Championship campaign as well as important fixtures against Ireland, France and England will be shaped by the outcome of the three Tests against Wales in July, writes Jon Cardinelli.

The Boks will have plenty to prove in 2022. While they were deserved winners of the series against the British & Irish Lions, and while they were the stronger side across the two matches against the All Blacks, they did not perform to their potential throughout the 2021 Test season.

Nienaber broached the subject while addressing the South African media in a virtual press conference on Sunday. While he was appointed in January 2020, Nienaber coached the Boks in a Test match for the first time in July 2021. Preparations for the 2021 season were hampered by Covid-19 setbacks, and for much of the year, the coaches and players relied on a strategy that had served them well in 2019.

They ticked some big boxes in 2021, by beating the Lions and All Blacks, and by ending an eight-year drought in Cardiff. It’s in 2022, however, where they will lay the platform for their 2023 World Cup campaign.

In a sense, the Boks are back where they started in 2020 when Nienaber was first appointed.

Two years ago, Nienaber spoke about using the home Tests against Scotland and Georgia as an opportunity to build momentum for the subsequent Rugby Championship. He outlined his goals to develop the squad and the Boks’ playing style, while pushing for positive results.

In 2022, Nienaber’s Boks will approach the three-Test series against Wales in the same manner. If they realise their objective in taking an unassailable 2-0 lead, then Nienaber will rotate the squad for the final game of the series.

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