Keiron Assiratti has enjoyed a solid autumn campaign for Wales after a lengthy wait for the starting jerseyKeiron Assiratti sings the national anthem alongside Taine Plumtree(Image: Getty Images)

Like so many Welshmen capped after a certain point, Keiron Assiratti’s Test career to date has largely been filled with defeats.

It had all started promisingly enough, with his Test debut against England back in August 2023 coinciding with a victory in Cardiff. For a while though, that was as good as it would get.

Having missed out on selection for the 2023 World Cup in France – a tournament that, given how the last two years panned out, increasingly feels like the good ol’ days – his first full season would bring a few starts, but no second victory.

His second season saw him fall a little in the pecking order behind Archie Griffin, Henry Thomas and WillGriff John – with all his Wales appearances last autumn and in this year’s Six Nations coming from the bench.

Thirteen months and seven cameos off the bench separated his sixth start for Wales and his seventh.

Both were tough ones. The sixth saw him forced off injured during the first half of the Twickenham Test against South Africa last summer.

The seventh saw him exposed to the heat in Kitakyushu against Japan this July, resulting in him missing the win in Kobe the following weekend.

By the time Assiratti was coming off the bench against Japan this autumn, 833 days had passed since the Cardiff prop last tasted victory in a Welsh jersey.

To say the 28-year-old had been patient would be an understatement.

The tighthead’s journey to Test rugby has been told before.

Assiratti was stranded in South Africa due to Covid when he last spoke to his grandfather before his passing. The last thing he would say to him was “Look Gramp, I’m going to play for Wales for you.”

The path to that wasn’t always easy, with his place in the professional game uncertain just months before his Wales debut after financial issues in Welsh rugby.

Two years on from all that, it feels like the prop is really starting to find his feet at Test level.

Tighthead has been something of a problem position for Wales, but with starts against Argentina and New Zealand, as well as the cameo off the bench against Japan, Assiratti has been quietly impressive this autumn.

Solid at scrum-time, a strong carrier with soft hands and willing in defence, the efforts of Assiratti – along with Griffin – will have eased some of the concerns Wales have over that particular position.

“It’s been good,” said Assiratti about his autumn campaign last week. “It’s a new coaching group.

“It’s very different to the past. Everyone is getting on really well.

“Duncan (Jones) has been good. He’s been good for me. I just want to keep kicking on.”

Having Rhys Carre back in the squad has helped, with the pair working in tandem either as starters or finishers this autumn.

“It’s been good having Rhys back,” said Assiratti. “We played together for quite a few years at Cardiff.

“It’s been good having him back in the mix. It’s nice getting a connection with somebody and sticking together.”

Carre won’t be around this weekend, but Assiratti’s third Test against the Springboks will provide a sterner test than any so far this autumn.

Wales have been relatively fine in the scrum over the last three games, but South Africa don’t care for fine.

Having crushed the Irish pack into the dust last Saturday, the only hope is that Rassie Erasmus’ pack take mercy on the Welsh this weekend.

However, all Assiratti and the other Welsh forwards can do is front up.

“We’re just working on our foundations,” he said about the Welsh scrum. “Our connection has been good.

“Dunc’s been good, just building our process. We just stick to our system and when we do that, we’ve been pretty good so far.

“Hopefully it just keeps kicking on and getter better every week.”

This weekend will certainly test that notion.

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