Wales were outmuscled in Cardiff as they failed to cope with the strength of a committed South African side, with only the boot of Leigh Halfpenny keeping them in touch.

WALES 15 vs 24 SOUTH AFRICA
Saturday, November 9, 17:30 GMT, Cardiff

The game was ostensibly over on the 12th minute. Richard Hibbard found himself out wide marking Bryan Habana, and once the ball got in the winger’s hands there was only ever going to be one winner. The support was there from Bismarck du Plessis who treated Liam Williams as if he were a speed bump and offloaded to Jean de Villiers for the score, the captain outstripping the cover defense. To add injury to insult both Williams and Jonathan Davies were forced off.

With neither Davies, who had started off superbly with two line breaks, nor Jamie Roberts there to punch holes and Toby Faletau rendered completely ineffectual Wales had nobody to break the gainline and were forced to kick, which they executed poorly. Whenever the ball went into the air there were always two or three Springboks in close vicinity, and barely any Welshman at all.

Two early moments of the game illustrated the gap in physicality beautifully. The first was when a rampaging Bradley Davies, the last vestige of hope for forward momentum, was obliterated by a Willem Alberts tackle that left the giant Welshman bloodied and reeling in disbelief. The second came at the lineout from a resulting penalty. The red forwards could do nothing but watch as a Francois Louw was driven over in a demonstration of savage willpower.

South Africa suffered their own misfortune when Morne Steyn went off, necessitating Patrick Lambie’s move to flyhalf. To say that he does not suit their style of play would be gross understatement, but the team adjusted and let their monstrous forwards to what they do best. The brutal efficiency of their catch and drive game at the lineout is a thing of beauty for those with an interest in trench warfare.

Wales were further deflated when lynchpin Adam Jones came off on the half hour mark, but by then the Springbok pack had already established their dominance. Ill-discipline crept into the game on both sides of the ball as neither side were able to build momentum, and an infuriating miscommunication between Halfpenny and Rhys Priestland handed Fourie du Preez an opportunistic try in the final quarter.

Warren Gatland will use words like clinical and ruthless as reason for his side’s capitulation, but man for man the home side were simply outmatched, with only George North able to claim any superiority over his opposite. Priestland struggled in his return to test rugby, and both Faletau and Alun Wyn Jones conceded needless penalties. There will be some soul-searching in the ice baths this week before the Pumas arrive on Saturday hoping to emulate the Springbok performance.

SCORING
02 mins – L. Halfpenny pen 3-0
05 mins – M. Steyn pen 3-3
08 mins – L. Halfpenny pen 6-3
11 mins – J. de Villiers try 6-8
12 mins – M. Steyn con 6-10
17 mins – F. Louw try 6-15
18 mins – M. Steyn con 6-17
24 mins – L. Halfpenny pen 9-17
34 mins – L. Halfpenny pen 12-17
55 mins – L. Halfpenny pen 15-17
64 mins – F. du Preez try 15-22
65 mins – P. Lambie con 15-24

CARDS
36 mins – F. Louw yellow (foul play)
57 mins – G. Jenkins yellow (persistent infringements)
57 mins – C. Oosthuizen yellow (team infringements)

WALES
L. Halfpenny; G. North, J. Davies (A. Beck 12), S. Williams, L. Williams (J. Hook 12); R. Priestland, M. Phillips (L. Williams 72); G. Jenkins, R. Hibbard (K. Owens 63), A.R. Jones (S. Andrews 31 {P. James HT}); B. Davies, A.W. Jones (L. Charteris 72); D. Lydiate (J. Tipuric 63), S. Warburton (capt.), T. Faletau.

SOUTH AFRICA
P. Lambie; J.P. Pietersen (J.J. Engelbrecht 71), J. Fourie, J. de Villiers (capt.), B. Habana; M. Steyn (W. le Roux 18), F. du Preez (R. Pienaar 77); T. Mtawarira (G. Steenkamp 66), B. du Plessis (A. Strauss 66), F. Malherbe (C. Oosthuizen 55); E. Etzebeth (P.S. du Toit 68), F. van der Merwe; W. Alberts (S. Kolisi 66), F. Louw, D. Vermeulen.

Referee: A. Rolland (IRFU)
Assistants: G. Clancy (IRFU) & M. Mitrea (FIR)
TMO: E. Gauzins (FFR)