The Springboks arrive in Cardiff after winning the Rugby Championship and have 10 victories from 12 Tests this year underlining a gulf between the teams in terms of form.
South Africa have lost on four of their previous six Cardiff visits, but overall, it is six wins from the last seven against Wales.
"We need to leave a performance we can feel proud of," said Rowlands.
"At the beginning of the autumn we talked about the three games and targeting to have at least two wins.
"We haven't delivered on that, but the last game can be important, result aside, from the performance that leaves a taste in everyone's mouth."
The experience gap is huge, with South Africa having 963 caps in their match-day squad compared to Wales' 334.
"I have belief if we play well we can beat South Africa, but having a good performance will give us something to build on moving forward," said Rowlands.
"They are not unbeatable. They are a fantastic side, and are world champions for a reason, but there are guys in our team who have beaten them before."