Tipuric makes mincemeat of the Springboks
A CLINICAL Wales inflicted the final wound on limping Springboks in Cardiff, as they eased past South Africa with Justin Tipuric the chief big-game hunter.
The flanker was brilliant, capping his man of the match performance with a try to seal the win in the 76th minute. He turned over ball, ran like a centre and even kicked well when necessary.
That Wales beat statistically the worst South African team in history will not worry them — after all it was just their third win against the Boks in 110 years.
You can only beat what is presented before you, and that is what Wales did. It was hardly full of wizardry or a brilliant spectacle but it was a victory that makes this their best autumn since 2002, winning three from four.
In truth it is probably their best, as they only had to beat Romania, Canada and Fiji 14 years ago.
So, after a horrid loss to Australia to kick things off, scraping through versus Argentina and almost losing to Japan, the series ends on a positive note.
It was Ken Owens’ score, from the back of a well-constructed rolling maul, that set Wales on their way — Leigh Halfpenny kicking 17 points from the tee.
Uzair Cassiem gave South Africa hope of rescuing some pride, but they ultimately lost their third match on this most forgettable of tours.
Tipuric, rightly named man of the match, said: ‘It was important to have a good win. We have been training hard for five weeks and it was nice to put in a performance like that.
‘I think any South Africa team are a good team. They fought until the end and I thought they were going to give us a scare at the end but the boys dug in.’
If experience was the only contributing factor to Test victories, this one was a foregone conclusion before it started.
Wales’ XV outscored South Africa’s 811 to 260 if you counted the caps before kick-off — the Boks backline was their least experienced since 1994, with two debutants and just 40 appearances between them — as many as Scott Williams had on his own.
And it was a match that neither team dared to lose — South Africa because no Springbok team has ever lost eight Tests in a year, and Wales because defeat would once again show they cannot cut it against the big boys, even when the opposition are in such dire straits.
The home side were expected to win, even if they had only done it before against South Africa in 1999 and 2014, but the favourites tag always weighs as heavy as a millstone when around Welsh necks, however.
The opening half-hour reflected such thoughts as both sides swapped penalties — Halfpenny with four and Elton Jantjies two — neither team able to make passes stick and phases flow when in attacking zones.
Wales definitely looked the more dangerous in possession, with Tipuric, Ross Moriarty and Liam Williams full of zip and promise and captain Gethin Jenkins getting through bags of work at the breakdown on his 129th cap.
But as it was, at the interval, those penalties were the only score.
Wales lost Dan Lydiate at the break. He was carried off on a stretcher with a left knee injury after the whistle had gone, so Taulupe Faletau made his return to the international scene for the second half.
But it was Dan Biggar who added the immediate ingenuity after the break. From first-phase line-out ball, he dinked over the on-rushing Bok defence and regathered. Like a flash he was through and tried to feed Gareth Davies on his right, but the errant hand of Faf de Klerk illegally stopped the ball’s passage.
Referee Romain Poite did not need the television match official’s help to send the half-back to the bin, and Halfpenny hit the penalty through off the right post. From the next South African infringement Wales were more bold, buoyed by the nine-point cushion they now had. Biggar hoofed to touch and the line-out was set. The red wave rumbled forward, spitting out green shirts as it went and Owens was at the back to score the try.
In a rare lapse, Halfpenny boomed his conversion attempt wide to the right, but Wales led 20-6.
South Africa made Wales think though. Cassiem found himself on the back of a rolling maul to score, Pat Lambie’s conversion then reducing the gap to just seven. This was not over yet. But Tipuric ended any Springbok hopes. He picked a wonderful line off Faletau in midfield and darted past substitute full-back Lionel Mapoe to score.
The Springboks were hunted — but the prize of their horns is more easily won these days. What a mess they are in.
South Africa captain Adriaan Strauss admitted as much after the match. ‘It is embarrassing for us, we let down people in South Africa, we let down ex-Springbok players,’ he said.
‘I am still hopeful for the future, but it will take time with a lot of hard decisions and hard work.’
So poor have the Boks been that SA Rugby president Mark Alexander issued a second damning statement in consecutive weeks. ‘It has been a profoundly disappointing season in terms of results and we are acutely aware that we have failed to live up to the Springboks’ proud heritage,’ he said.
‘I would like to apologise to all our stakeholders. We are all feeling very raw and let down and it would be easy to make knee-jerk decisions. But we must resist that.’
WALES: Halfpenny, North, J Davies, S Williams (Roberts 78min), Liam Williams (S Davies 59); Biggar, G Davies; Jenkins (Smith 67), Owens (Baldwin 60), Francis (Lee 68), Charteris (Hill 78), AW Jones, Lydiate (Faletau 40), Tipuric, Moriarty. Subs (not used): Lloyd Williams.
SOUTH AFRICA: Goosen (Mapoe 69); Combrinck, Venter, van Rensburg, Ulengo; Jantjies (Lambie 59), De Klerk (Van Zyl 65); Mtawarira (Kitshoff 59), Strauss (Marx 71), Adriaanse, Du Toit (Mostert 68), De Jager, Carr (Du Preez 79), Cassiem, Whiteley. Subs (not used): Nyakane.
Referee: Romain Poite (France).