Wales……………………………. 13pts
Tries: Lake 30
Conversions: Costelow 30
Penalties: Costelow 7, 34
South Africa …………………41pts
Tries: Kriel 3, Penalty 11, Mapimmpi 42, Mbonambi 68, van der Merwe 74 Conversions: Hendrikse 3, 42, Feinberg-Mngomezulu 68, 74
Penalties: Hendrikse 49, Feinberg-Mngomezulu 66
THE Mexican Wave, always an indication of the importance and intensity of the occasion, started as early as the 50th minute as the crowd realised that the first winning of the Qatar Airways Cup was of no real relevance.
Wales fought hard but anyone with any remote understanding of the game would have realised it was only a matter of time before their opponents upped their game to end up convincing winners and so it proved.
It was a game that very few felt should take place as it was added as a financial benefit with South Africa taking advantage of a large number of their countrymen in London and the Welsh Rugby Union always on the lookout for options to swell their coffers.
It was officially marked down as a home game for South Africa as Cardiff ‘s Principality Stadium was unavailable due to it being sacrificed for performances by female icons, Taylor Swift and Pink.
Being outside the international window, Wales were unable to select the likes of their Six Nations captain, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell and Nick Tompkins while their opponents were without any Bulls, who were competing in the URC final and also huge stars in Cheslin Kolbe, Steven Kitshoff and Lukanyo Am.
Despite these absentees, South Africa tried to play an expansive game and eventually it paid dividends by scoring some well-created tries but overall it was a stuttering effort from them not aided by frenetic debutant, Jordan Hendrikse.
Matters improved when Sacha Freiberg-Mngomezulu was introduced in his place to ensure that the sparkling play of both
wings and the evergreen Faf de Klerk was not unrewarded.
Wales offered little apart from spirit with Sam Costelow content to launch the ball cross-field at every opportunity and it came as no surprise that their only try came from a close-range effort from hard-working skipper, Dewi Lake.
Playing their first game since their World Cup final victory in October, South Africa made an impressive start and should have taken an early lead but Hendrikse’s 40m penalty attempt went wide.
It mattered little as his side were soon ahead when neat handling ended with Jesse Kriel and Makazole Mapimi combining to send Kriel over.
Costelow put Wales on the scoreboard with a penalty but their respite was temporary as their opponents soon hit them with some huge body-blows.
First a well-judged pass from de Klerk saw the dynamic Evan Roos run 30 metres before being hauled down inches short with Rio Dyer yellow carded for preventing early release. Soon after they were awarded a penalty try for collapsing a driving line-out with Aaron Wainwright joining his fellow Dragon in the sin-bin for the offence.
Costelow missed a straightforward penalty before Dyer and Wainwright returned in time to receive a boost when Aphelele Fassi, was sin-binned for catching Taine Plumtree‘s face with his boot as he sought to catch a high ball.
From the resulting lineout, Wales capitalised when Lake powered over with Costelow converting and adding a penalty to leave his side trailing 1413 at the interval.
After the restart it took less than 90 seconds for South African to score their third try when a well-timed pass presented Mapimi with a stroll to the corner. Hendrikse converted from the touchline before adding a penalty.
Welsh lock Ben Carter, was lucky to escape censure for a high shot on replacement Frans Malherbe before Feinberg-Mngomezulu fired over a penalty from inside his own half as if he was playing in the rarified atmosphere of the high veldt.
South Africa emphasised their superiority with their fourth try scored by Bongi Mbonambi from a line-out drive before Wales introduced Eddie James and Jacob Beetham for their first taste of international rugby.
However the best try was saved until last with Van der Merwe scoring a superb individual try by skipping away from the defence on a 45 metre to the line to send Wales to their seventh consecutive defeat.
This is a dismal record but their hierarchy are likely to allow head coach Warren Gatland another year to weave his former magic. Another disastrous Six Nations campaign would surely seal his fate.
He has always been his own man in terms of selection but some of his recent picks seem questionable and much to the dismay of fans who regularly watch regional fixtures.
By way of an illustration, Ospreys were the most successful region last season by winning 14 of their 25 competitive matches but key contributors Martyn Morris, Nicky Smith, Keiran Williams and Reuben Morgan-Williams have been continually ignored.
In contrast, their rivals Cardiff won just four of their 22 fixtures, yet they had no less than 17 players called into squads during the course of the season with the injured Theo Cabango set to have been another but remarkably three of their standout players, Thomas Young, Rhys Carre and Liam Belcher, weren’t among them.
Belcher is Cardiff ‘s skipper but despite hugely committed performances in lost causes, he found himself behind team-mates, Evan Lloyd and Efan Daniel in the pecking order due to the fact that Gatland’s mantra is big is beautiful with Belcher a mere 5ft 9ins.
As a result another Cardiff man, 6ft 5ins and 17st 6ibs Mason Grady, has now become the catalyst to restore fortunes in assuming the Jamie Roberts’ role to get Wales over the gain line. Grady, who spent most of the season wasted on the wing, transformed the Welsh effort when he and Ioan Lloyd were introduced in the Six Nations. Their best efforts were when a 27-0 deficit to Scotland was almost turned into a remarkable victory and it’s rough justice that Lloyd now finds himself surplus to requirements.
This is surprising as Gatland has chosen just the error-ridden Costelow, as his sole flyhalf for the Australian tour and he must therefore be hoping that Cardiff youngsters, centre Ben Thomas and fullback Beetham, can step up to the mark should the need arise but it could still be a difficult trip.
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