Wales head coach Pivac is busy preparing for a huge series of four matches at the end of this year with New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Australia all arriving in Cardiff on consecutive weekends from October 30.
TO BUY TICKETS FOR WALES’ AUTUMN SERIES MATCHES, CLICK HERE
Three of those four southern hemisphere giants – Fiji are the exception – are all in action in the Rugby Championship right now.
After downing the British & Irish Lions 2-1 in their Test series this summer, South Africa have suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Australia in the last fortnight.
Dave Rennie’s Wallabies have downed the Springboks 28-26 and 30-17 in consecutive weekends which means South Africa will be desperate to bounce back.
Wales last faced South Africa in the semi-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup
On Saturday, they face Ian Foster’s All Blacks in Queensland (kick-off 8.05am UK time) for the first time since the two sides met in the pool stages of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand were triumphant 23-13 in that game in Yokohama, but South Africa responded emphatically by going on to lift the William Webb Ellis Cup.
South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber criticised his team’s display as they were beaten 30-17 by Australia and admitted the challenge of facing the All Blacks this weekend was a daunting one.
“We are sorry, that’s all we can say,” said Nienaber.
“It was not a performance that was worthy enough for a Springbok jersey. We sincerely apologise.
“This was a very poor performance.
“We were truly beaten. We got beaten hands down in every department – defence, kicking game, attack. We just made too many errors.
“The last time we conceded four tries in a game, I think, was against New Zealand in 2018 three years ago so it definitely wasn’t up to standard.
“Our exit game wasn’t up to standard and was inconsistent. It wasn’t a great performance.
“It is a big eye-opener in terms of how big the challenge will be against New Zealand – you get tested differently. It’s going to be a massive challenge.”
Wales face a huge autumn series against New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Australia
It is a big eye-opener in terms of how big the challenge will be against New Zealand – you get tested differently. It’s going to be a massive challenge
Wales faced both South Africa and New Zealand at the last World Cup in Japan.
The All Blacks will do battle with Pivac’s side again at a sold-out Principality Stadium on October 30.
New Zealand have won their last two games against Argentina. Lock Brodie Retallick captained the team against the Pumas last time out.
“We talked about having to keep playing and not let them get over the ball and our opportunities will come,” he said.
“It wasn’t always completely accurate, but on the whole we really had to work and then we started to find some space a bit wider.
“I thought it was a great Test match. Not every Test is going to be easy and playing Argentina is different to Australia. It was good for us leading forward to the next two or three weeks.”
Ticket details for Wales’ autumn fixtures:
Wales v New Zealand, Principality Stadium – Saturday 30th October SOLD-OUT
Wales v South Africa, Principality Stadium – Saturday 6th November CAT A £75 (£37.50) / CAT B £65 (£32.50) / CAT C £45 (£22.50)
Wales v Fiji, Principality Stadium – Sunday 14th November CAT A £35 (£17.50) / CAT B £25 (£12.50) / CAT C £20 (£10)
Wales v Australia, Principality Stadium – Saturday 20th November CAT A £75 (£37.50) / CAT B £65 (£32.50) / CAT C £45 (£22.50)
For the first time, concession tickets are available in ALL categories for ALL matches across the series (shown in brackets).
