South Africa vs Wales live: Score and latest updates from Nations Championship
The most remarkable thing about Rassie Erasmus’sSpringboksis that they make total and utter dominance seem mundane. Waleswere pulverised in nearly every facet of the game but will have been relieved to escape. . .
The most remarkable thing about Rassie Erasmus’sSpringboksis that they make total and utter dominance seem mundane. Waleswere pulverised in nearly every facet of the game but will have been relieved to escape Kings Park without a repeat of the73-0 hiding they suffered in Cardiff eight months ago. Had South Africa’s handling been just average, they would have blown past that scoreline, but the sloppy Springboks committed 20 turnovers and made 16 visits to the Wales 22 for their seven tries. All in all, Erasmus may rate this a D- performance but it was still a good day when he was able to give four players their debuts, including fly-half Vusi Moyo, who played precisely how you would expect a 20-year-old with 58 minutes of senior rugby to perform on the Test stage. Still, South Africa could have picked a competition winner from Durban’s party crowd to pull on the No 10 shirt and they would have still won by 30 points such was the superiority of their pack. Back-rower Paul de Villiers, who only made his debut in this summer’s Nations Championship replacing captain Siya Kolisi, is already looking like their next superstar in waiting. Back-rower Paul de Villiers is already looking like the Springboks’ next superstar in waitingCredit: Steve Haag/Getty ImagesIf one image summed up South Africa’s complete control, it was in the 12th minute when Wales had a scrum on their own five-metre line. When the Springbok shove came, the Welsh pack went backwards like they were on roller-skates. The poor Welsh front row are going to have to check under their beds for snarling Springboks props for quite a few sleepless nights to come. Wales’ best period of the game came just after the Springboks’ fourth try when they had three line-outs and took three tap penalties deep inside the South Africa 22. It amounted to absolutely nothing. You can point fingers at head coach Steve Tandy’s selections and preparation if you wish, but there was little he could have done to change the result. It was only the manner of their hammering, he could have potentially affected. Wales are not alone in this. Scotland and England may have posed a few more problems but they were still dispatched with ease. South Africa are truly in a league of their own, although New Zealand’s resurgence under Dave Rennie should at least provide a serious level of competition that the British mainland failed to provide. In truth the best thing that Tandy could do is burn the tapes and hope that this is consigned to the deepest recesses of their collective memory. Tighthead Dillon Lewis especially may need one of thoseMen in Blackmemory wipers. If you squinted hard enough, there were a couple of positives: the maul defence and high-ball contest. They were at least competitive. Aaron Wainwright had the unenviable job of packing down at the back of a retreating Welsh scrum but did a heroic job in the circumstances. Jac Morgan, too, was bravery personified in attacking the breakdown with the ferocity of the Springboks clean-out operation. But in the infrequent periods when South Africa got on a roll without knocking on, there was precious little Wales could do to stop the green wave. The first try was a case in point. Emanating from a loose kick from Tomos Williams, full-back Aphelele Fassi broke the first line of Wales’ defence and then they kept coming through Cobus Wiese, Damien de Allende before Jasper Wiese accelerated through Morgan’s tackle and over the line. At one point, South Africa were averaging a preposterous six metres per carry and only a desperate scrambling tackle from Mee prevented Cobus Wiese from following his brother over the try-line. After the Springbok front row committed an X-rated crime on their Welsh counterparts, scrum-half Cobus Reinach picked up from the resulting five-metre scrum and arced his way over in typical fashion. The power of the Springboks 😤A Welsh scrum is heaved backwards to their own try-line, which Wainwright is forced to ground. It's then the turn of South Africa, who in an instant get it out the back and Cobus Reinach scores the try 💪#NationsChampionshippic. twitter. com/fMd7DTOgdX— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby)July 18, 2026His half-back partner Moyo had a very uneven game but on half-time showed the vision to cross-kick to Kurt-Lee Arendse who tapped back to centre Jesse Kriel for an easy score. More punishment was to come straight out of the changing rooms. Another poor Williams kick allowed Wiese to win the tap back. A quick exchange of passes with Reinach later and Jaco Williams was over for a debut try. The impressive Williams turned provider to put replacement scrum-half Herschel Jantjies over for the Springboks’ fifth try. Manie Libbok provided a lot more control when he came on at fly-half for Moyo and it was his long mispass that allowed Arendse to register the sixth try. The outstanding De Villiers rounded off the rout with a maul try. To think four years ago, Wales came within a whisker of pulling off a series victory in South Africa. Now they are operating in different universes entirely. Match detailsScoring sequence:5-0 J Wiese try, 7-0 Moyo con, 12-0 Reinach try, 14-0 Moyo con, 19-0 Kriel try, 24-0 J Williams try, 26-0 Moyo con, 31-0 Jantjies try, 36-0 Arendse try, 41-0 De Villiers try, 43-0 Libbok con. South Africa:A Fassi (D Willemse 60); J Williams, J Kriel, D De Allende, KL Arendse; V Moyo (M Libbok 48), C Reinach (H Jantjies 52); G Steenekamp (JH Wessels 48), M Marx (AH Venter 47), C Sadie (W Louw 48), C Wiese (BJ Dixon 48), R van Heerden, P de Villiers, PS Du Toit, J Wiese (M van Staden 54). Wales:B Murray: L Rees-Zammit, M Llewellyn (J Hawkins 41), B Thomas, E Mee; D Edwards, T Williams (R Morgan-Williams 73); R Carre (N Smith 41), D Lake (R Elias 41), D Lewis (B Warren 54), Te Williams (F Thomas 54), A Beard, A Mann (T Reffell 64), J Morgan, A Wainwright (J Botham 43). Referee:A Brace (IRFU).