CAPE TOWN, 22 June 2004 — Welsh coach Mike Ruddock will ask his players to set aside their respect for South African rugby when his side ends their season with a one-off Test against the Springboks in Pretoria on Saturday.
Wales arrived in Cape Town yesterday from Argentina where they shared their two-Test series, 1-1. “It would be great to get a win — it’s what we strive for but whether we will be good enough I don’t know,” said Ruddock.
“We have a huge respect for South African rugby but I’ll ask the players to put that on one side and get stuck in.” Wales have traveled without 14 senior players and their young side is in the final match of a 10-month season.
“I don’t know how much is left in the tank,” said Ruddock. It has been a long season with autumn internationals, the World Cup, Six Nations and then matches against the Barbarians and two Tests in Argentina.
“But whatever is left we are going to chuck at South Africa. We’ll muscle up and hopefully play a bit of rugby as well. We are a young team but we want to bring them forward and develop them and playing sides like South Africa is the best way to do that.” They face a South African side fresh from a 2-0 series victory over Ireland. “Given Ireland’s cohesion I thought they might have just nicked the first Test but for South Africa to have won both Tests makes it even more of a challenge,” said Ruddock.
Giteau and Gerrard Available for Wallabies
In Sydney, inside center Matt Giteau and uncapped winger Mark Gerrard are available for Saturday’s one-off Test against world champions England after recovering from illness and injury respectively.
“Mark Gerrard and Matt Giteau both trained today and will be available for selection against England this weekend,” the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said in a statement yesterday.
“Giteau has recovered well from a virus that saw him ruled out of the second Test against Scotland, on the day of the match, while Gerrard is running freely after recovering from a thigh strain.”
Morgan Turinui was selected for last Saturday’s second Test against Scotland but was dumped from the squad for the World Cup final rematch against England after making some glaring defensive errors. The Wallabies will name their team tomorrow for the one-off Test in Brisbane.
