Wales coach Wayne Pivac is hoping for a first good night's sleep in almost four months when his side get their tour of South Africa underway this weekend.
The tourists kick off their three-match series against the world champions at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday in what will be the teams' second meeting since the Springboks won their 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final encounter.
Armed with several players who partook in the British and Irish Lions' tour to the Southern Hemisphere last year, Pivac will have some experienced heads on hand as he hopes to spring a surprise.
But he admits his time spent masterminding his side's prospects after a dismal start to 2022 means he will only rest soundly when the first game is done and dusted.
"I’ll probably get my first decent night's sleep since the end of the Six Nations," he stated. "That's a fact.
"It just doesn't go away. The thing with coaches and players is you're not happy until you get your next win under your belt. It's been a long time between drinks, and of course there is that memory.
"If you finish on winning the Six Nations then it's quite a nice memory, but losing to Italy has been challenging in terms of the pressure you put on yourself as opposed to the pressure others put on you."
Wales have lost their past three matches and are winless in five away from home, sliding to ninth in the world rankings while South Africa retain top spot.
Pivac is aware his side will be the underdogs, adding: "It's understandable. You've got to look at where the two teams are coming from. They're the world champions, in their own backyard, at altitude.
"It's a tough place for anyone to go, and from the outside looking in, from our last performance, you would write us off.
"The main thing is that we haven't written ourselves off. Some of the players look at it, a lot of them are on social media all the time. It's a fact of the game. I don't mind it at all, because it is just people reporting on the facts.
"If you want to argue, play a bit better. That's where we've got to do our arguing and say that we are better than that, don't write us off and then bang."
A Josh Griffin hat-trick denied Warrington the chance to go back to the top of the Betfred Super League table as they were beaten 30-18 in a tight clash by Hull.
A thrilling final match at Magic Weekend saw Wolves open well, but Hull’s stellar start to the second half which saw them score three tries in 11 minutes turned the game around.
It was a missed opportunity for Warrington, who now sit just behind Catalans Dragons in the table, while Hull continued their good run as they made it four wins in their last five league games.
A persistent spell of pressure inside the Hull 10 metre area saw Warrington draw first blood just three minutes in. A neat high kick from George Williams was held by Connor Wrench and the winger was able to reach over the line to ground the ball, with Stefan Ratchford adding the extras.
The Wolves’ speed on the attack was rewarded in the 12th minute when Williams pounced on a loose pass, scooping the ball up and sprinting to touch down between the posts.
Hull continued to battle and a great move saw Tex Hoy kick across goal, the ball parried down for Danny Houghton to latch on to in mid-air to cross before Jake Clifford converted.
Matt Dufty regained possession for Warrington with an excellent run from a Hull kick, but the Wolves were kept at bay by a solid Hull defence, who made some great last-ditch blocks on their own try-line.
The Black and Whites were unable to make the most of some good chances in the final minutes of the first half, but they were straight on the attack after the restart and nearly had a try through Griffin, who fell just short.
Their energetic start saw Hull score again in the 43rd minute when Clifford’s grubber-kick was chased down by Adam Swift on the wing and he did well to hang on to the ball to cross in the left corner.
The tries began to flow as Hull added another two minutes later after an excellent move saw Griffin find a gap to cut in from the left and go over, giving Hull the lead for the first time in the game.
The second rower then struck again in the 51st minute, getting on the end of Jake Truman’s cross-field kick and spinning around to touch down.
Warrington responded five minutes later with a good string of passes towards the right and Wrench made no mistake charging forward to ground in the corner for his second try of the game.
Griffin completed his hat-trick following a fine team move which saw Hoy break forward from a Warrington kick to reach the halfway line before offloading to Swift, who found Griffin and he powered over.
Hull’s defence continued to show resilience on the try-line to deny Warrington in the final 10 minutes before Hoy added a fifth try for the Black and Whites, bursting through the Warrington defence to seal victory.
Tommy Makinson scores four tries as St Helens coast past Huddersfield
Tommy Makinson contributed 28 points as St Helens showed signs of shaping up for their customary Betfred Super League title push with an emphatic 48-6 win over Huddersfield Giants in Newcastle.
Saints’ quest for a fifth straight crown may have been slow to click into gear since their sapping pre-season trip Down Under to win the prestigious World Club Challenge over Penrith Panthers.
But bolstered by the brilliant Makinson, who crossed four times and added six conversions, Paul Wellens’ men turned on the style in the second half to ultimately coast to victory against the below-par Giants.
It was a performance far removed from the inconsistencies that have blighted their campaign so far, illustrated by indiscipline in their Challenge Cup win over Halifax, and errors that almost cost them in last week’s dramatic golden point win at Leeds.
Saints did take some time to click into gear, but they turned a 10-point half-time advantage into a nine-try romp to simply flatten Ian Watson’s strugglers, who had set out in the opening 10 minutes with plenty of intent.
The Giants have singularly failed to live up to their own pre-season expectations this season and may have harboured a glimmer of hope of a change in fortunes themselves after Kevin Naiqama put them in front on six minutes.
The Fijian star reacted fastest to flop onto Tui Lolohea’s clever kick once it narrowly eluded his team-mate Jake Bibby, and Jake Connor kicked the conversion.
But Saints responded swiftly when Jack Welsby sent Konrad Hurrell zeroing in on the diagonal to haul them back within two points, and from the moment Welsby sent Mark Percival scurrying over against the run of play with 20 minutes gone, there only looked to be one winner.
The Giants’ cause was not helped by a yellow card for Luke Yates for diving in late on Makinson, and Makinson responded by lurching into the corner off a long Welsby pass to extend his side’s lead just past the half-hour mark.
If Huddersfield still felt in with a shout trailing 16-6 at half-time, it was swiftly extinguished when Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook bustled over from Dodd’s inside ball within five minutes of the restart.
The Londoner’s effort opened the floodgates, as Makinson crossed for his second off a neat pass from Lomax, moments after having been denied an almost identical try for a questionable forward pass.
Hurrell went over and Makinson completed his hat-trick – all down the over-exploited right flank – as Saints went through the gears and extended their lead to over 30.
The one-man show continued as he crossed for his fourth off a Jonny Lomax pass with 12 minutes left on the clock, then his delicious backhand pass sent Joey Lussick galloping over before the 31-year-old fittingly rounded off the rout by arrowing over his sixth conversion from the touchline.
On this day in 2009: Andy Robinson appointed Scotland head coach
Andy Robinson returned to the cauldron of Test rugby after being appointed Scotland head coach on this day in 2009.
Two and a half years after his dismal reign as England boss came to an end, the former Bath flanker took over a Scottish side that had managed only one victory in each of the previous Six Nations.
Robinson said he was the right man to induce a revival and described himself as a “better coach, a better leader and a better manager” after presiding over just nine victories in 22 Tests during his Twickenham stewardship.
He signed a three-year deal after being prised away from Edinburgh, where he impressed during two seasons in charge.
“One of the key things for me is developing that winning mindset, not necessarily at times how we play. It’s about winning and understanding how to win,” Robinson said.
Scotland’s outlook failed to improve under Robinson and after only two wins in 15 matches, he resigned in 2012 following a 21-15 home defeat by Tonga.
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