Springbok dish out rugby lesson to woeful Wales

The Springboks finished their 2024 end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom unbeaten after beating Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Rassie Erasmus’s men won 45-12 after leading 26-5 at half-time.

For the latest rugby news, bookmark The South African website’s dedicated section for free-to-read content

The Springboks scored seven tries through Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Elrigh Louw, Aphelele Fassi, Gerhard Steenekamp and Jordan Hendrikse.

Hendrikse was also on target with five conversions.

Wales replied with tries by Rio Dyer and James Botham.

Ben Thomas added a conversion.

In their other matches on their tour, the Springboks beat Scotland 32-15 and England 29-20.

The Springboks finished the year as the No 1-ranked side in the world.

For Wales, it was their 12th consecutive defeat as the pressure mounted on coach Warren Gatland.

TEAMS

Wales

15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 James Botham, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Christ Tshiunza, 3 Gareth Thomas, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Archie Griffin

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Eddie James, 23 Josh Hathaway

South Africa

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Thomas du Toit

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Handre Pollard

Thoughts on the Springboks’ performance in Cardiff?

Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1

Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest news.