New-Look Springboks Crush Hapless Wales In Durban
The Springboks gave the 41,000-strong crowd plenty to celebrate with an impressive, albeit at times scrappy, 43-0, seven-try victory over a Wales side that offered little resistance at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday evening.
After a succession of box kicks and aerial contests, South Africa made the breakthrough in just the fifth minute. Cobus Reinach released Jasper Wiese with a well-timed pop pass, and the powerful No. 8 bulldozed his way over the try line. Despite desperate efforts from Jac Morgan and Rhys Carre to halt his charge, Wiese proved unstoppable as he crashed over for the opening try.
Debutant Vusi Moyo opened his international points account by adding the conversion.
In the 12th minute, Cobus Wiese sliced through a gap in the Welsh defence with ease. With the try line beckoning, his close-range offload to Paul de Villiers was spilled forward, denying the hosts what would have been a superb try.
The Springboks soon began to dominate at scrum time, overpowering the Welsh pack – even on Wales’ put-in. After earning a penalty, the hosts opted for another scrum, and the decision paid off immediately. Reinach picked up from the base and darted over untouched for a simple score.
From there, the game lost much of its rhythm as both sides produced untidy passages of play, with handling errors and missed opportunities inside the 22. A lack of clinical execution turned the contest into a scrappy affair despite the Springboks’ territorial dominance.
As the hooter sounded to end the first half, South Africa launched one final attack from inside the Welsh 22. Slick handling across the backline allowed Moyo to produce a perfectly weighted cross-field kick for Jaco Williams to challenge Ellis Mee. The bounce favoured the Springboks, allowing Jesse Kriel to gather the loose ball and dive over unopposed to round off an excellent first half for the hosts.
HALF-TIME: SOUTH AFRICA 19-0 WALES
The second half had barely begun when the Springboks capitalised on a Welsh box kick. After collecting the kick, Cobus Wiese shifted the ball to Williams, who found himself in space before racing over for a dream debut try at his home ground.
Moyo’s excellent conversion extended South Africa’s lead to 26-0 and secured the four-try bonus point.
The Springboks continued to threaten, with Kriel going close before another try was held up over the line. Their persistence was finally rewarded in the 64th minute when slick hands across the backline created space for the impressive Williams, who delivered a deft final pass to send Herschel Jantjies over for the hosts’ fifth try.
Ben Warren was shown a yellow card after making direct contact with the head of the charging Marco van Staden, with the officials ruling that his tackle was too upright.
Five minutes later, the electrifying Damian Willemse and Manie Libbok combined brilliantly before releasing Kurt-Lee Arendse into space on the left wing. With the Welsh defence stretched beyond breaking point, the winger crossed comfortably for South Africa’s sixth try.
Libbok’s missed conversion mattered little as the Springboks extended their lead to 36-0.
The home crowd had one final moment to celebrate when Player of the Match Paul de Villiers crossed for the seventh and final try after the Springboks’ rolling maul finally yielded the reward it had threatened throughout the contest, sealing a comprehensive 43-0 victory.
