Another week, another record defeat. This time, Wales suffered a crushing 45-12 loss to South Africa, marking their worst home defeat against the Springboks. It was their 12th consecutive loss, capping off a year where they failed to win a single game. The most disheartening aspect was that they played quite well, displaying grit and determination. However, this only underscores the harsh reality that this thumping defeat was as good as it gets for this team. It seems they have nothing better to offer.
First, some positive news. They managed to score twice, and the crowd showed up. The opening five minutes were decent, but the following five minutes were disastrous as South Africa surged ahead 12-0. Their tries came from unexpected efforts by their towering lock forwards, Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth, who capitalized on breaks made by the wings, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse. Kolbe went down the right, and Mostert sliced through the defense. Then, Arendse went down the left after stealing the ball from Sam Costelow and passing it to Etzebeth, who ran in after following him for about 40 meters.
To emphasize their dominance, South Africa spent the next 10 minutes within the Wales 22, almost as if they were practicing attacking scenarios. Jac Morgan managed to stop Siya Kolisi from scoring a third try, but it soon came when South Africa moved the ball across the field to Arendse off a lineout. Arendse nearly scored a fourth try but was denied by Blair Murray. Kolisi had another try disallowed due to a knock-on by Jaden Hendrikse. However, Elrigh Louw powered over from a scrum.
By this point, the Wales fans were cheering tackles as if they were tries. After 40 minutes, they finally had something to celebrate when Wales entered the South Africa 22 for the first time. They threw 13 men into a maul and tried to push over the line, eventually passing to Rio Dyer, who scored in the corner. That was the highlight of the match. The second half was a slow march towards the inevitable conclusion. South Africa missed a couple of chances due to sloppy handling but eventually scored through Fassi and Gerhard Steenekamp.
Wales missed a good opportunity by botching a lineout in South Africa’s 22 and another due to a penalty at a scrum. They finally scored a second try when James Botham managed to squeeze over in the last play of the game. Things started going wrong for Wales even before the game began. They had to make two last-minute changes due to Gareth Thomas falling ill and Tom Rogers injuring his calf. Thomas, with 35 caps, was one of the most experienced players, and Rogers had been one of the few bright spots in the previous week’s loss to Australia. Nicky Smith and Josh Hathaway were brought in as replacements.
The match program was a sobering read. “We cannot question the players’ commitment,” wrote WRU president Terry Cobner. “At this moment, we are just not good enough.” Cobner’s advice was to “keep working hard until we turn this corner.” The WRU plans to hold their usual end-of-series review, bringing in independent experts to help. They aim to report before Christmas, giving them over a month to prepare for their next fixture against France in the Six Nations. Gatland is determined to continue, and there is hope for a deal with the regional teams to increase funding and gain more control.
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