Rugby Union - Wales vs. South Africa: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Wales and South Africa will meet at Saturday night’s Autumn Nations Series match at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium to conclude the 2024 rugby season.

South Africa will finish the year as the top-ranked rugby team in the world, while Wales will not even make the top ten and may go winless for the first time in more than 14 months.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

With no wins to show for 2024, Wales could need a win to close out the year. However, playing the reigning world champions and Rugby Championship winners gives them a good opportunity.

Even though a victory here would be the perfect way for the Dragons to end the year, nobody is holding their breath following their recent showings against Fiji and Australia.

The Pacific Islanders defeated Warren Gatland’s team 24-19 on 10 November, marking their first home defeat since overcoming Georgia at the World Cup last October. This was their tenth successive loss.

It was challenging to watch Gatland's press conference after watching Gatland's press conference, which was difficult after last week's 52-20 thrashing by the Wallabies. Most of the questions centered on whether he contemplated stepping down as head coach following this previous season's match, regardless of one’s favorite team.

It isn't easy to envision the hosts winning this one with a six-day turnaround with the world champions visiting town. Still, the Welsh coach has done an admiral job of handling criticism and being transparent about the team’s faults and ambitions going ahead.

Meanwhile, South Africa is riding high after last week’s nail-biting encounter with England at Twickenham Stadium. They prevailed 29-20 after a closely contested match that kept the momentum going for most of the match.

Nonetheless, the Springboks did what has become routine: they upped their game in the last moments, fended off an English charge, and secured their position atop the global rankings.

South Africa seems well-prepared for another successful year in 2025. Rassie Erasmus has definitely increased his team's depth by bringing in a large number of fresh players, as he fielded over 50 players this season.

Except for two losses in 12 Tests this year, both by a single point, the new Green and Gold players have blended in well with the rest of the group.

Given their success, it is not unexpected that the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights will turn up as large favorites to cap the year with a decisive victory. The Springboks have brought back the “ugly" side of Welsh rugby, which was once trendy.

Wales x South Africa Team News

With Rio Dyer, Sam Costelow, Christ Tshiunza, and Taine Plumtree starting for Gatland in what many believe may be his last match as coach, the Welshman made a sweeping lineup change this week.

Freddie Thomas, an outstanding lock for Gloucester, has been selected for the bench and might debut this weekend; Josh Hathaway, another member of Thomas’s club, has also been picked to the reserves.

After suffering a cut above his knee last week, Ox Nche was anticipated to retain his starting position. However, in an unexpected move, Erasmus benched the in-form prop in favor of Wilco Louw for the matchday squad.

Thomas du Toit, originally designated as the starting tighthead, will now shift to the loosehead side of the scrum. Johan Grobbelaar, who will replace Bongi Mbonambi, will be positioned between the two props.

Our Predictions

(Handicap 27:0), South Africa to win @ 1.92 on Sky247.ng

There is a huge disparity in quality between the two teams at this point, and we believe that the formidable Springboks will easily overcome Wales.

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