Newport Gwent Dragons second-row Michael Owen has insisted Wales will not fear Tri-Nations champions South Africa come Saturday’s Test match, despite their last meeting with the Springboks ending in a crushing defeat.
”It is not something to be daunted about,” said Owen on Tuesday ahead of this weekend’s Millennium Stadium match.
Yet it was only in June that South Africa thrashed Wales 53-18 in Pretoria, albeit after winning the first two Tests by narrower margins of 34-19 and 19-8 respectively.
The Springboks, under new coach Jake White, stunned the southern hemisphere by winning the Tri-Nations.
Saturday’s match sees them tackle the first leg of a Grand Slam (beating England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland on the one tour), something last achieved by Australia in 1984.
The game is also Wales’s first at home under new coach Mike Ruddock, where the hosts will be looking for only their second win against South Africa.
Owen, 24 on Sunday, said his side are relishing the challenge.
”Everyone is really excited,” he said. ”South Africa are a fantastic team, and it is going to be a massive challenge, but it is what we want.
”We want to be playing against the best teams and try to compete with them. We will give it our best shot and hopefully, we can do well.
”It is not something to be daunted about. This is what it is all about, playing at the Millennium Stadium in front of a packed house against one of the best teams in the world.”
Wales have demonstrated glimpses of what they are capable of in the last year following their gallant but losing displays against New Zealand and England at the World Cup.
They also gave England a scare during last season’s Six Nations, but Owen knows that heroic defeats will not satisfy the Welsh rugby public for long.
”We have been playing well, and improving all the time,” insisted Owen ahead of a November programme that also pits Wales against New Zealand, Romania and Japan.
”Within the squad, we feel confident that we can compete with anyone.
”During the World Cup and then in the Six Nations, we’ve probably had the opportunities to win some big games, but we didn’t quite close those games out.
”It is a matter for us to find the knack of winning those games — it is a fine line between success and failure.”
Owen, who can also play in the back row, missed the World Cup through injury, but since then has established himself as a strong candidate for next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
”To miss the World Cup was a devastating blow for me, but since then, I have just tried to make the most of it,” he said.
Ruddock was due to name his team later on Tuesday with Owen set to be played as a lock forward.
Newport scrumhalf Gareth Cooper, who went off injured during his team’s European Cup defeat against Newcastle nine days ago, is Wales’s major injury concern.
Cooper failed to recover in time for the Dragons’ match with Edinburgh on Sunday and Wales officials will continue to monitor his progress during the week. — Sapa-AFP