Wales can’t bridge the gap against Springboks
THIS was a step too far for Wales, as Wayne Pivac admitted. His team had made history on Springbok soil this summer by claiming second Test glory after losing the first. The Bloemfontein win was their first in South Africa.
It meant Wales went into a decider at DHL Stadium with a series win possible. That they were even in such a position was remarkable given the paucity of their Six Nations campaign.
Ultimately, their aspirations were snuffed out by trademark Springbok power. Wales, in bits by the end after the longest of seasons, could not withstand the home assault.
For the Welsh, it was defeat, although they will take several positives from this tour.
‘It was a bridge too far in the end,’ said Wales head coach Pivac. ‘But I can’t fault the effort that went in. We were pretty banged up throughout the week which took its toll.
‘We are a bit frustrated with the score at the end. Coming here, the goal was to win the series and we were serious about that. We can still take a lot of positives from this.’
Wales were dealt a blow when No 8 Taulupe Faletau suffered a side injury in the warm-up.
Josh Navidi was the man to step in and Taine Basham was promoted to the bench where Rhys Patchell replaced Gareth Anscombe.
Liam Williams was unable to claim an early high ball and South Africa were straight on the attack.
Lukhanyo Am kicked to Makazole Mapimpi, who crossed with ease, but referee Matthew Carley checked the score with TMO Brett Cronan, who ruled it out for the Springbok wing having a foot in touch. Handre Pollard provided some home consolation with the opening points.
It was no surprise when home pressure paid off with Pollard diving over. Wales forwards Ryan Elias and Dan Lydiate clashed heads trying to stop the try and Pollard converted.
Lydiate was forced off with a nasty head cut, with lock Alun Wyn Jones — and not back-row Basham — the man who surprisingly came on. Wales looked in big trouble.
But they had already defied expectations on this tour and did so again to hit back. George North and Nick Tompkins, who both had fine games, danced forward. Josh Adams then went close, but Tommy Reffell was in support to score, though Biggar couldn’t convert.
Having conceded eight penalties in the first 25 minutes, it was remarkable Wales remained in the contest. They were given three more cheap points when Mapimpi’s head collided with that of Tompkins as the Welshman was falling to ground. Referee Carley awarded a penalty only and showed no card.
With 15 on the field, South Africa kicked to the corner and their driving maul went over the line, Bongi Mbonambi the scorer on his 50th cap. Pollard converted.
Immediately after the break, Biggar kicked three more points.
Am then waltzed over for what he thought was South Africa’s third try, but it was rightly chalked it off for Jaden Hendrikse’s forward pass. For all their dominance, South Africa were shooting themselves in the foot. It allowed Biggar to narrow the gap, with the game on a knife-edge.
On came South Africa’s ‘bomb squad’ and the explosion they created was heard throughout Cape Town.
Welsh scrum-half Kieran Hardy was charged down and although Wales escaped, they then decided to run the ball clear and conceded a penalty. Their decision to play out was costly.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi crashed over between Tompkins and Will Rowlands for the game’s crucial try before Pollard pushed his team 10 points clear.
Wales, unsurprisingly, were out on their feet. Their line-out went to pot late on and, ultimately, they conceded too many penalties over the course of the series to come out on top. Pollard made the game safe with two final kicks.
‘Every game has been hard but we were able to take opportunities more than we did in the past two games,’ said Boks captain Kolisi.
‘People love the Springboks and they want to see us win all the time. But the coaches had a plan over the first two games and every player in the squad got an opportunity.
‘We are so grateful we are learning about our squad depth while winning at the same time.’