Resurgent Johan Grobbelaar vows Springboks will finish the year at full throttle against Wales

The Springboks’ Test against Wales on Saturday marks another step in hooker Johan Grobbelaar’s personal resurgence in the green and gold.

After falling out of the Springbok setup earlier in the year, he has fought his way back, featuring. regularly on the November tour and re-establishing himself in the national conversation following Bulls teammate Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ ban and veteran Bongi Mbonambi’s dip in selection.

Grobbelaar has sat behind World Player of the Year Malcolm Marx over the last few weeks, but is likely to start in the No 2 jersey against Wales. He also started the Test against Italy in Turin and impressed after being forced to play almost the full 80 minutes following Franco Mostert’s red card. He will again be in the middle of the much-vaunted Bok scrum on Saturday.

“It’s been great being in the Springboks mix again,” Grobbelaar said ahead of the match. “Earlier this year I was out of it, and then coming back in now, getting opportunities to play four games – it’s been great putting on the green jersey again.”

Grobbelaar insists there will be “no lack of motivation” when a reworked Bok side attempts to close out their season with a November tour clean sweep against Wales.

The world champions have navigated a gruelling end-of-year schedule with typical steel, winning four from four so far. Wales, by contrast, have only managed a single victory – against Japan – their first win in nearly two years.

After the bruising win over Ireland, the Boks will go into their tour finale without many first-choice stars, with Saturday’s Test falling outside the international window. However, Grobbelaar believes the squad’s mindset remains as sharp as ever, regardless of rotation, fatigue, or the temptation to view the fixture as a formality.

“There have been a few big games the last couple of weeks, and earlier this year we had big away games that we won, so I think the team’s done really well,” the Bulls hooker said. “This is the last one for the year for us against Wales, and I don’t think there will be any lack of motivation from the guys. We’ll handle it with the same intensity as any other Test week.”

With several players unavailable, the Boks are expected to field combinations with limited time playing together. Yet Grobbelaar sees the blend of opportunity and unfamiliarity as part of the excitement rather than a hindrance.

Wales, who will themselves be without 13 squad members, showed enough in their recent defeat to the All Blacks to suggest they won’t be pushovers.

Grobbelaar, who has faced many of their players in the United Rugby Championship, warned that their skillset and character should not be underestimated.

“They have some great rugby players – as we saw against the All Blacks, they scored some beautiful tries,” he said. “They have a good skillset at the back, good attacking shape, and they’re always a threat under the high ball.”

“On paper, we might be the favourites,” he admitted, “but knowing the Welsh from playing them in the URC, they’re a proud nation. They won’t go away. It’s going to be a full-on battle for 80 minutes. The guys who replace the missing players will still be quality players.”

The positive mood in the Bok camp, he says, stems from collective ambition rather than comfort after a series of victories.

“The guys deserve it. We’ve been working very hard and have won the last couple of games. One more to go for the year against Wales – a big one for us – to make it five out of five.”