‘As tough as it gets’: Dan Biggar says Wales are ready for Boks

Wales captain Dan Biggar says his team are gearing up for one of the “biggest challenges in world rugby” when they front up against the Springboks in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 5.05pm).

Wales head into the game as heavy underdogs, but Biggar is well aware of what they are going to face and just wants his side to go out and express themselves.

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“This is one of the biggest challenges in world rugby. The world champions and number one ranked team in their own backyard at altitude, in front of 50 000 Springbok supporters, so it’s about as tough as it gets,” said Biggar.

“But what the squad has done off the back of a really disappointing Six Nations is we have really come together and said this is a fresh start now, a clean slate and let’s just go out there with a bit of freedom and express ourselves.

“If we listened to everything that’s been reported, to everything in the media, to fans, to pundits, to everyone, we may as well not turn up and just have three weeks on holiday here. So we want to show a lot character on Saturday and I am hoping that can shine through.”

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Despite having everything stacked against them, including a sold out crowd at Loftus, Biggar is excited for the atmosphere it is going to produce and believes it will even lift his side.

“It’s one of the best places that they (Boks) play rugby, in terms of a hostile crowd, sort of really getting in your face and stuck in and supporting the Springboks,” said the skipper.

“But that’s brilliant because this is the atmosphere over the last couple years that we have missed. We (British and Irish Lions) played there 12 months ago in one of the warm-up games, and for such a historic stadium it was just soulless without the crowd.

“So I think that will get the best out of us on Saturday, I really do believe that. As difficult and intimidating as it is, it’s also a real challenge for us, and I think with that in mind we need to respond really well on Saturday if we want to get anything out of it.”