Jean Kleyn believes that the Springboks will be facing a desperate Wales team on Saturday in the Autumn Nations Series.

South Africa head into the fixture off the back of victories over Scotland and England this November, while Warren Gatland’s side have endured a torrid run of form losing 11 straight Test matches on the bounce.

Desperate Wales outfit

For Kleyn, the encounter in Cardiff will be his first appearance for the Springboks since coming off the bench in the Rugby World Cup final victory over New Zealand last year and the Munster lock is wary of the challenge that lays ahead.

“Just desperation,” he remarked when asked what he expects from Wales this weekend.

“A dog in a corner is always a dangerous dog so I think we’re definitely preparing for a big fight, especially in the first 20, they’re going to come out emotionally and it’s going to be tough going.

“We have plans and we have things that we’ve set in place to deal with their threats and plans that make us a little a bit more threatening.”

Few have given Wales even a sniff at a positive result at the Principality Stadium in the Autumn Nations Series fixture but the second-rower, who switched international allegiances back to South Africa last year after representing Ireland at the 2019 World Cup, believes that it won’t be overly straightforward as many believe.

He added that the All Blacks also went through a dip some years ago and it was their youngsters that stepped up and turned things around and the same could happen for the Welsh, who have lost a plethora of experienced players including the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Leigh Halfpenny, Dan Biggar and others.

“I do think it’s going to be tough going, they’re a young team with a lot of youngsters who want to prove a point,” he said.

“You look at the likes of All Blacks guys like Kieran Read, stepping forward many years ago when they were on the down and it was the young guys that pulled them up.

“There’s going to be a few boys looking to prove a point especially because it’s the last game of the season, they are 11 down at the moment so they’d love to finish the season by beating the world champs.”

Springboks’ lock depth

It’s been a long road back to the Green and Gold jersey for Kleyn, who earned his recall after a 10-month spell on the sidelines. He was initially omitted from the Springboks squad but was called up during the build-up to the Scotland game after an injury to Ruan Nortje.

“It feels amazing,” Kleyn said on being back in the squad.

Obviously I was injured for 10 and a half months then slowly getting back into and it took me a few games and then I’m glad to have the opportunity again and be back with the boys –  it feels like it was just yesterday.”

With Kleyn, Franco Mostert and RG Snyman all missing the entirety of the Rugby Championship, Nortje made the most of his chance in the second-row before injury struck while Pieter-Steph du Toit also filled the void at lock.