‘Expect ambulances’: Wales star Jamie Roberts issues warning ahead of Springboks clash
Jamie Roberts has told Wales to expect "physical warfare" when they face South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Jamie Roberts has told Wales to expect "physical warfare" when they face South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Matches against the Springboks, one of test rugby's most powerful teams, can often be gruelling affairs – as Roberts knows only too well.
"The challenge above all else is to get the mind right and put your body on the line for physical warfare," said Wales centre Roberts.
I will never forget the second Lions test at Loftus Versfeld in 2009 when there were five of us in the hospital afterwards. That was interesting.
Now a qualified doctor, as a medical student he found himself spending more time in hospital than even he would have wished during the British & Irish Lions losing series in South Africa six years ago.
"I will never forget the second Lions test at Loftus Versfeld [in Pretoria] in 2009 when there were five of us in the hospital afterwards. That was interesting.
"Adam [Jones] came off with a shoulder which took two or three hours to get back in, Gethin [Jenkins] smashed his face, [Brian] O'Driscoll got a clout on his head, I injured my wrist and ended up needing an operation on it and Tommy Bowe hurt his elbow.
"There were five of us in an ambulance after that game going to the hospital. That is what lies in store for us this weekend, the 28-year-old Roberts, a veteran of 76 tests – 73 for Wales and three for the Lions – added.
"It's pretty gruesome, but that is the nature of the game now. You have got to be prepared to put your body on the line and take it to places where you haven't been before," said Roberts, a member of the side beaten 9-8 by France in the 2011 World Cup semi-final in New Zealand, a match where Wales captain Sam Warburton was sent off for a tip tackle.