Hardy warns Wales that snubbed Springbok De Klerk has a point to prove against them

Kieran Hardy has warned Wales that Faf de Klerk will be a fired-up opponent when the Barbarians face the Welsh at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, just days after the 34-year-old was left out of South Africa’s squad for the upcoming Nations Championship.

Hardy, capped 31 times by Wales, lines up directly against De Klerk in a fixture that falls outside World Rugby’s designated Test window — meaning Lions scrum-half Tomos Williams is among the England and France-based players unavailable to Steve Tandy’s side.

“I’ve played against him several times and he’s exactly what he looks like on TV,” Hardy said of the former Sale Sharks man, who recently signed for the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs after four years in Japan. “He’s just energy everywhere he goes. It feels like he’s everywhere. I don’t know if the hair helps him a little bit with that — maybe it gives him a bit of extra.”

“He’s obviously very experienced and the way he runs the game for South Africa, and has done over the last few years, he’s been a massive part of that. There’s some world-class players in their group, a lot of internationals. A lot of boys like Faf, who’ve missed out on essentially playing for the Springboks. So you feel like he’s got something to prove.”

The match also marks the end of an era for Welsh rugby, with George North bringing down the curtain on his international career against the country he served for 121 Tests, scoring 47 tries along the way.

For Wales, the Barbarians fixture is a precursor to the inaugural Nations Championship, which begins next month and runs through to November. Tandy’s side face Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium on July 4 — officially classed as an away fixture — before successive trips to Argentina and South Africa.

Hardy is eager to carry momentum from a Six Nations campaign that ended with Wales snapping a three-year wait for a victory in the competition, beating Italy in Cardiff.

“Obviously, we’ve spoken a little bit about building and what we did in the Six Nations,” he said. “As the competition went along, I think our performance got better. We got a good victory against Italy in the end, but I think we want to build on that and keep improving over the summer. The win was huge for the group, especially building into the World Cup.”