Scrum guru Daan Human sees chance for young Boks to shine amid player absences

Human, widely regarded as the Boks' best-kept secret for his role in shaping a brutally effective scrum capable of overpowering any pack in the world, said the team has grown accustomed to constant rotation and shifting combinations week to week.

The Springboks will be without the services of World Rugby Men's Player of the Year Malcolm Marx, Thomas du Toit, Boan Venter, Lood de Jager (who is still serving a suspension for a dangerous tackle), RG Snyman, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Grant Williams, Handre Pollard, Manie Libbok, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, and Edwill van der Merwe, who have all returned to their provincial unions and clubs.

Wales will also be missing several choice players, however, as the clash falls outside of the international window.

Asked about the number of players returning home - including a few key front-row performers - Human insisted it's nothing new for the Boks.

"We basically play with different teams or make a lot of changes week in and week out, so we are used to it," said the former Bok prop.

"That said, it's always a loss not to have some of your top players available, but I would imagine it would be the same for Wales with some of their players participating in the Premiership, while I'm also not sure if all their URC players will be available.

"The good thing is that it presents another opportunity for some of the younger players because we have guys available, who played last week against Ireland and others who played against Italy, so there is no one new in the travelling squad."

Despite the number of missing players, the Boks are still considered firm favourites for the clash against a struggling Wales side, but Human said the team never thinks in those terms.

"I don't believe in favourites tags. It doesn't help a team. You must have respect for the opposition, so we'll do our best to prepare as well as we can for this match."

Asked if the Boks' dominance at scrum time of late spelled danger for Wales this weekend, Human said he wasn't about to make any predictions.

"My father always says, don't tell me what you are going to do, tell me what you've done, so we'll see what happens," he said.

"Wales have quality players, especially their starting front row, and in general they have guys who can really perform and some with a lot of experience, which is quite similar to our team."

While the Boks have a chance to finish their five-match tour unbeaten, Human said it would be special but stressed that their focus remains on the game itself rather than chasing records.

"We set goals at the beginning of the year, and there's only one game left, so it would be a great achievement if we can get it right," said Human. "But we don't think about records and being unbeaten, we simply focus on the next game."

Erasmus will name his match-23 for the Test on Thursday.

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