Wales provide Dewi Lake fitness update ahead of South Africa match

Wales will continue to assess captain Dewi Lake as he looks recover from a groin problem to be fit to face South Africa in their Nations Championship clash on Saturday.

Steve Tandy has bolstered his squad with the addition of Dragons hooker Elliot Dee and Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas, who have both flown out to Durban to provide some additional cover.

Lake scored an early try against Argentina last weekend, but was forced off during the second half of the 35-21 defeat in San Juan.

Wales assistant coach Danny Wilson confirmed Lake had been able to do some training on Wednesday, but will need to be carefully monitored ahead of the showdown with the Springboks at Kings Park Stadium.

“He light trained today, which is a real positive, so that sort of ruled him more in than out at the moment,” Wilson said at a press conference.

“But we have got to see how the next 24 hours goes, how he recovers from the light training session today and how he pulls up. So we will do that and make the relevant decisions off the back of it.”

With Taine Plumtree also having “got a bit of a bump”, Wilson feels the addition of Dee and Thomas will provide a bit more depth should it be required, with the squad now extended to 35 players.

Whatever team Tandy is able to send out against South Africa, with Ryan Elias on standby to start at hooker if Lake is not fit, Wilson accepts a more composed display will be needed than the one against the Pumas which came after opening the Nations Championship with a win over Fiji in Cardiff.

“Collectively we were a little bit disappointed with the performance and probably the middle section of the game where we dropped off,” he said.

“We have addressed and talked about that today and looked at the positives from the game, but obviously drawing the negatives from what was the loss.

“I think our demands, if you like, our expectations are going up. With each game and each improvement, we have got to keep talking about how we get over the line in international rugby.”

South Africa have made 10 changes to their starters, including four uncapped players, as Rassie Erasmus’ side looks to build on victories over England and Scotland.

Wilson feels Wales – thrashed 73-0 by the Springboks in Cardiff at the end of November – must stand up to the formidable challenge ahead.

“That is what Steve’s spoken about – what an opportunity to get, to play the world champions in their own backyard. It is one-offs and ones that you want to be pitching yourself against,” he said.

“It is obviously a huge challenge physically, right across the park in every area…that is where they get their dominance from, so we are fully aware of that challenge.”