Nations Championship
South Africa (19) 43
Tries: J Wiese, Reinach, Kriel, Williams, Jantjies, Arendse, de Villiers Cons: Moyo (3), Libbok
Wales (0) 0
Wales went a second game running without a point against South Africa as they were beaten 43-0 in Durban in the third round of the Nations Championship.
The seven-try defeat followed the 73-0 record hammering the world champions handed Wales in Cardiff last November, and leaves Steve Tandy‘s side 12th in the world while the Springboks sit top.
Ospreys prop Ben Warren felt the sharpest edge of the afternoon, sent to the sin bin in the second half for a high tackle on Marco van Staden after a TMO check.
Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias and Ospreys loosehead Nicky Smith were among the regional players thrown on at the break, but the reshuffle did nothing to slow the South African tide.
Springboks fast out of the blocks
South Africa had scored 31 first-quarter points in each of their opening two games, and it took them just five minutes to get going in Durban.
Number eight Jasper Wiese charged over after some ineffective Welsh tackling, debutant fly-half Vusi Moyo adding the first of his three conversions.
The second came in the 13th minute, Cobus Reinach picking up and racing over from a scrum after the Springboks had turned over the Welsh put-in.
To their credit, Wales tackled themselves to a standstill to keep the deficit at 19-0, centre Jesse Kriel getting the only further try just before the break from a Moyo cross-kick.
Half-time changes, same story
Tandy made four changes at the interval, sending on Elias, Smith, James Botham and Joe Hawkins — but South Africa needed just 45 seconds to strike again.
Wales lost an aerial battle, the ball fell kindly, and new cap Jaco Williams raced in for the bonus-point try.
Wales then enjoyed their best spell, camped in the South African 22, but they overthrew a five-metre lineout and Ellis Mee knocked on in the act of scoring — the afternoon in miniature.
Warren binned as Boks pull clear
Replacement scrum-half Herschel Jantjies sprinted over next, and the TMO then spotted Warren’s high tackle in the build-up, the Ospreys prop shown yellow.
South Africa made the extra man count as the ball was shifted left for wing Kurt-Lee Arendse to glide over, before Paul de Villiers rounded things off from a driving maul that Wales had no answer to all day.
For Tandy, a Tonmawr product who came up through Neath rugby, it closed a bruising first season in charge — three wins from 12 internationals.
Wales, who had lost 35-21 to Argentina before this after opening with a bonus-point win over Fiji in Cardiff, return to the Principality Stadium in November to face Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
South Africa: Fassi; Williams, Kriel, de Allende, Arendse; Moyo, Reinach; Steenekamp, Marx, Sadie, C Wiese, van Heerden, de Villiers, PS du Toit (capt), J Wiese
Replacements: Venter, Wessels, Louw, Dixon, van Staden, Jantjies, Libbok, Willemse
Wales: Murray; Rees-Zammit, Llewellyn, B Thomas, Mee; Edwards, T Williams; Carre, Lake (capt), D Lewis, Teddy Williams, Beard, Mann, J Morgan, Wainwright
Replacements: Elias, N Smith, Warren, F Thomas, Reffell, Botham, Morgan-Williams, Hawkins
Yellow card: Warren 65
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[Lead image: Welsh Rugby Union]
