Josh Adams believes Wales' upcoming Nations Championship clash with South Africa will be the ultimate measure of the team's progress under head coach Steve Tandy.
The Welsh squad have arrived in Durban for their final match of the 2025-26 campaign, following a 35-21 defeat to Argentina in San Juan. That loss came after wins over Italy in the Six Nations and Fiji in the Nations Championship opener, plus a victory against the Barbarians in an uncapped fixture.
Argentina provided a harsh reality check, and now Wales must confront the toughest challenge in world rugby: facing the reigning world champions at Kings Park on Saturday (16:40 BST).
"There's probably no harder test," said wing Adams. "It's certainly something that will test this group and it'll probably answer a lot of questions about where we are. How can we react from the Argentina game? The physicality, contact area, movement is all magnified against a team like South Africa so we have to be at the races.
"We can talk about lots of areas of the game, but we've got to move quickly, hit hard and stay in the fight. Those are the simple things we need to work on this week."
Wales showed spirit to stay in the contest against Argentina and were chasing bonus points as the clock ticked into the red. But the Pumas were convincing winners after responding to an opening round defeat by Scotland.
"We were just slightly off it around our physicality, first time tackles, speed around the ruck – the basics where you need to be at it at this level," Adams explained. "We still managed to find ourselves in the Test match and it was going back and forth until they pulled away with a couple of scores before half-time. Argentina are a good team when they stay on top of you and if you are not at it in the areas that I have mentioned – and with your discipline – then teams will punish you."
Wales now face a South African side that has started the Nations Championship with wins over England and Scotland. The Springboks demolished Tandy's side 73-0 at Principality Stadium in November, when Wales were stretched due to the fixture falling outside World Rugby's Test window.
In 2022, Wayne Pivac's Wales secured their first ever victory on South African soil in the second of three Tests, with Adams scoring the crucial try. Four years on, simply being competitive in Durban would be considered a success.
Wales again face a near day-long travel schedule, but Adams insists the team is focused on bouncing back. "We have to move on quickly from Argentina. The only way to respond is to put in a performance against the best team in the world."