Key events
TRY! Wales 0-179South Africa (Arendse, 19)
And another! And it was so simple. Mostert takes the line-out and Hendrkise then fizzes it down the line. Nothing special. Just fast and accurate. Arendse, on the left wing catches a looping pass from Fassie and then steps off his left foot and rounds the two covering defenders. Hendrikse converts as Costelow is hooked for James. It’s falling apart for Wales.
19th min: Another penalty inside Wales’ 22. Llewellyn with a tackle off the ball. he got sucked into buying the decoy run of Fassi. South Africa have already made 267 metres to Wales’ 33. They’ll have another line-out five out. It’s one-way traffic so far.
17th min: Wales hold firm|! Brilliant defence. First their scrum held their own and forc ed messy ball for Hendrikse at the base. Wiese picked up and went himself but couldn’t bust through. Etzebeth was then crunched by Smith. Kolisi then had a dart but Morgan did brilliantly to hold him up over the line.
14th min: Wales do well to lift a jumper and disrupt the line-out. But they spill the ball. So South Africa will get a five metre scrum. Out of the frying pan and into the fire for the home side.
13th min: The Boks get a rumble on from their maul, but there’s a penalty as the Welsh disrupt it illegally. That might be the final straw before a yellow is shown. Another line-out chance for SA. This time about five metres out.
13th min: Slick line-out work and Arendse, off his wing, takes it on a wraparound move from de Allende and busts over the 22 line on the right. Plumtree gets in a tangle at a breakdown and is penalised. Hendrikse punts it closer to the line. SA with the throw about seven out.
11th min: Wales are off-side so they get a penalty inside their own half. They’re chucking it about, even under pressure Jordan Hendrikse chucked a tough pass to Kriel who took the contact. But the penalty allows Hendrikse to kick towards Wales’ 22 for a line-out.
TRY! Wales 0-12 South Africa (Etzebeth, 9)
Both locks have scored! They’re running riot! It started with stiff counter ruck that robbed Wales of the ball. Then it was all too easy as quick hands found Arendse on the left wing and in a flash he was cantering up the field. A simple pass back inside found the big unit in support and he charged over the try line. The conversion is missed, but this already looks like it could get messy.
TRY! Wales 0-7 South Africa (Mostert, 6)
South Africa are on the board! A brilliant line from Mostert is totally missed by wales near the right wing and Jaden Hendrikse hits the big man at pace and he’s through a gap. It started with a run from Arendse that sparked a move down the line before Kolbe barged into the 22. South Africa then dominated the breakdown and kept their momentum moving forward. Wales’ line splintered and Mostert picked his moment to perfection. The conversion is good and the Boks are away.
5th min: Elrigh Louw claims the line-out at the back of the line-out and Hendrikse then Wiese take it close to the line. They’re five out as they go from right to left. But Botham gets low and wins a crucial penalty on his own line. That is a fantastic steal. Wilco Louw guilty of holding on there after he charged over the gainline.
4th min: Costelow has started well. He takes a high ball under pressure. Hendrikse then gets clattered as he catches a high kick but soon Kriel is over the gainline courtesy of a cross-field kick to to the left wing. But we come back for the penalty as Dyer took Hendrikse out in the air. The Boks hoof it ling and they’ll get the line-out inside Wales’ 22.
2nd min: Costelow’s kick-off is deep and Jordan Hendrikse boots it out around half-way. Morgan charges to the line. Costelow carries well. Lake too. Early continuity from the Welsh until Costelow launched a high kick that is claimed by Jordan Hendrkise. They’re playing their own game right now.
Wales in white with green shorts by the way. Maybe that’s the change they needed.
Tell you what, that was a moving rendention of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
No matter the context, the Welsh know how to back their boys. Tears in the eyes of Lake and Dyer. If they can bring that to the pitch we might have a game.
The players are stood in their rows, two of rugby’s best anthems are about to get going.
Not long now…
Here’s what the coaches had to say before kick-off:
Warren Gatland:
Last week’s result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans.
There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week we need to show real courage and front-up against the world champions.
Rassie Erasmus:
This is our last match of the season, and we are determined to finish the year on a positive note.
Wales are a proud nation with a world-renowned coach in Warren and they’ll do everything to finish their campaign on a high note.
We’d love to finish the tour unbeaten, but we are well aware of the fact that we’ve have a few close results against them over the years at the Principality Stadium.
Wales have won the coin toss. So far so good for the underdogs.
“I do care passionately about Welsh rugby and that’s why I’ve said that if people feel that the best decision is for me to go, then that’s OK, I’ll move on and look for something else,” Gatland said this week.
“I honestly believe that if you make that decision now, what are you going to achieve? Is someone else going to come in there and start again, how long is that process going to take? What players are available to us at the moment that are potentially going to affect results?”
Fighting words from one of the game’s greatest scrappers. But surely the end is nigh?
When Cameron Hanekom takes the field to win his Test debut, he’ll become the 51st player used by Rassie Erasmus this year.
Ordinarily such chopping and changing is a sing that things aren’t going so well (Wayne Pivac used 50 Welsh players in 2020 and Dave Rennie used 51 Australians in 2022).
But the Boks are on course to win their 11th Test from 13 in a season that includes a Rugby Championship title.
South Africa’s dominance over the oval ball is often inflated by their passionate supporters. France, New Zealand and Ireland, one their day, can certainly challenge them. But there’s no question we’re in the midst of one of the great dynasties in the sport’s history.
“Gatland has seemed like a sacked man working, if not a dead man walking, ever since he said he was willing to resign if it was in “the best interests of the Welsh game” after they were beaten 52-20 by Australia last Sunday”
This was punchy stuff from Andy Bull who also argues that Gats is “a good man, and was a great coach” but that it’s “beginning to feel like his last act of service to the Welsh game will be to take the blame for its failings, and, by doing so, force it to finally confront the state it is in.”
I’m not sure where I stand. All I know is that if the coach of my national team had publicly announced his intention/willingness to step away from the job twice in the same year, I’d be demanding he leave as swiftly as possible.
South Africa team
Two brothers – Jordan and Jaden Hendrikse – start together in the half-backs for the first time. Outside of them is a ton of experience as the in the backline.
In front of them it’s a slightly rejigged pack. Eben Etzebeth was supposed to start off the bench but a late injury to Jean Kleyn means the 130-cap veteran wears the 4 jersey. Keep an eye out for debutant Cameron Hanekom off the bench. Many back home have predicted a bright future for the rampaging loose forward.
South Africa: Aphelele Fassie; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Jordan Hendrikse, Jaden Hendrikse; Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobellar, Wilco Louw, Eben Eztebeth; Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (c), Elrigh Louw, Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenkamp, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden, RG Snyman, Cameron Hanekom, Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard.
Wales team
There have been four late changes to the side that was originally selected. Not sure if that’s a sign of chaos in the ranks but it is a rare late shuffle for sure.
Winger Josh Hathaway and prop Nicky Smith start in place of Tom Rogers and Gareth Thomas. Kemlsey Mathias and Owen Watkin take their place on a handy looking bench.
But I fear none of this will make much of a difference. Still, what an opportunity to do your country proud.
Wales: Blair Murray; Josh Hathaway, Max Llewellyn, Ben Thomas, Rio Dyer; Sam Costelow, Ellis Bevan; Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake (c), Archie Griffin, Will Rowlands, Christ Tchiunza, Jac Morgan, Taine Plumtree.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Kemsley Mathias, Kieron Assiratti, Freddie Thomas, Tommy Reffell, Rhodri Williams, Eddie James, Owen Watkin.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
If you like your Test rugby tight and hotly contested, you’ve probably come to the wrong place.
Of course anything can happen, but this would go down as one of the greatest shocks in the sport’s history if Wales – winless this year – manage to topple the Springboks.
Warren Gatland, Wales’ beleaguered coach, used to work miracles and achieve success despite the struggles of the domestic set-up. But he’s either lost his mojo or run out of players who can make up for those shortcomings because he heads into the most difficult challenge in rugby right now on the back of 11 straight defeats. For those wondering, that makes this the worst Welsh side in the country’s history. Anything other than a crushing 12th loss would constitute an upset.
Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s coach, has no space for sentiment or sympathy. He’s selected a formidable side (more on that later) and will expect to close 2024 with an 11th win from 13 Tests. This would also make it a clean sweep from their European tour, their first since 2013.
But if Wales are to go down let them at least go down with pride. Even a disappointing result can have a silver lining after all and there are thousands of loyal Welsh supporters who deserve to put this torrid year behind them with an inkling of goodwill in their hearts.
Kick off at 5:40pm.
Teams and further updates to come.