Superb Springboks inflict another humiliation on woeful Wales in 11-try demolition in Cardiff
Springboks celebrate try against Wales in 2025.
The Springboks ended their very successful 2025 campaign in fine style by securing a dominant 73-0 triumph over a woeful Wales side.
Rassie Erasmus’ men followed their Rugby Championship title success by winning every game on their northern hemisphere tour, doing so for just the second time since 2013.
After defeating Japan, France, Italy and Ireland, the Boks were far too strong for Steve Tandy’s outfit and touched down 11 times in total.
They crossed the whitewash four times in the first half via Gerhard Steenekamp, Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese and Morne van den Berg before making the most of their dominance in the second period.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu grabbed a brace while Wilco Louw, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth also scored to complete a fine year’s work.
However, Etzebeth could find himself on the sidelines for the next few weeks at least after a red card for a nasty eye gouge.
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Few would have expected a first choice Welsh side to compete but their task was made even harder by the absence of the likes of Jac Morgan, Tomos Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit.
South Africa were also hit by player unavailability but Erasmus has built some remarkable depth and it could not really be described as a weakened team.
They certainly showed why in an opening 15 minutes that was rather ominous. They dominated the air and were easily winning the gain line battle, resulting in an early try for Steenekamp after some fine carrying at close quarters by his fellow forwards.
The Springboks aren’t all about power, though, having expanded their repertoire since their 2023 Rugby World Cup triumph and that was displayed in Hooker’s score.
They spread the ball to the right quickly and Damian Willemse was on hand to off-load to the powerhouse wing, who brilliantly did the rest.
At that stage, a mauling appeared on the cards but, to Wales’ credit, it did not materialise in the next 15 minutes. The hosts were spirited and kept their opponents at bay, but the Boks would have been frustrated by their ill-discipline.
Erasmus’ men were slightly too enthusiastic at the set-piece, leading to a number of free-kicks, but when they did get it right, the home side could not cope.
That is exactly what happened on the half-hour mark as a scrum surged towards the line, giving Wiese the simple task of touching the ball down.
The Boks then added a fourth before the interval when Van den Berg crossed the whitewash after good work from Moodie had taken them deep into Welsh territory.
There had been more mistakes than the tourists would have liked in that first half, but South Africa cleaned that up at the start of the second period.
They crossed the whitewash three times in five minutes to open up a 49-0 lead with half-an-hour remaining. Louw was the first one over as he scored from close range before Taine Plumtree was yellow carded for a series of indiscretions.
Wales were already struggling to contain South Africa but, with them now down a man, two more quick-fire tries from Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Moodie followed.
The scoring did stop briefly, but five minutes later the Springboks were over again when another fine move ended in Esterhuizen going over in the left-hand corner.
Matters also got worse for the hosts with a second yellow card, this time for Aaron Wainwright, in the build up to that try.
Although Wales handled that period slightly better, the pain did not end for Tandy’s men as South Africa touched down three more times in the final quarter.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Nortje and Etzebeth all scored as Wales suffered another embarrassing defeat.
However, the game – and Test season – ended on a sour note as the final try-scorer was sent-off for putting his thumb in the eye of Alex Mann.
The teams
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Christian Coleman 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Thomas
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Zachary Porthen, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Kwagga Smith, 23 Cobus Reinach
Referee: Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (RFU), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
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