Boks smash Wales in Durban

The Springboks outplayed Wales 43-0 in their Nations Championship match in Durban on Saturday, scoring seven tries in the process and notching up an 11th consecutive win, while also keeping their clean slate in the new global competition, something that was never in doubt after they held a 19-0 lead at the break, despite not firing on all cylinders.

The Boks will be the first to admit that they played in bursts but when they did get it right, it was beautiful to watch. They kept Wales scoreless in the match and did enough for the 40 299 spectators in attendance at Hollywoodbets Kings Park to have the best of times.

The early stages were dominated by kicks from both sides, with no real advantage either way. The first Bok attack delivered immediate results though with an opening try by Jasper Wiese. A couple of strong ball carries by the Bok forwards had Wales reeling, including a storming run by younger sibling Cobus Wiese before Jasper crashed in from an angle for his fourth Test try.

Five minutes in, Vusi Moyo – one of four debutants, all of whom proved their selections to be worthy – kicked his first conversion in Test rugby and the Boks were 7-0 up.

The first scrum penalty came after nine minutes but the Boks could not quite capitalise on that. They fixed that soon after though. From a strong push near the Wales line, Cobus Reinach sniped around the corner to score his 20th Test try and reach 100 Test points. Moyo added the conversion and it was a point a minute after 14 played.

Wales hardly had a look in at this stage. Their kicking game worked well but the Boks’ counter attacking efforts were not too shabby either and they gained many running metres from those kicks.

It took the hosts another 25 minutes before they could trouble the scorers again, which was frustrating given their territorial advantage. Handling errors was the main reason for the inactive scoreboard.

Jesse Kriel scored on the buzzer – this third try in as many Tests this month – running onto a cross kick from Moyo. The try was a good reward for the efforts of the last part of the half.

The second half started spectacularly for the Springboks and debutant wing Jaco Williams. Schooled at nearby Glenwood Boys High, the speedster ran onto a great Cobus Wiese offload and scored his first test Try in the right-hand corner. Moyo converted and at 26-0, the score suddenly resembled the home side's dominance. It was also the bonus point try for the Boks.

Erasmus made several changes from the bench after 47 minutes, including subbing Moyo, who was replaced by Manie Libbok.

Wales came desperately close as South Africa continued to give away penalties, mainly for being offside around the fringes of the ruck, with wing Ellis Mee losing the ball over the line.

They kept attacking, but in between chasing kicks and running support lines, Paul de Villiers was having the time of his life, making tackles and disrupting Welsh ball and this time, crucially forcing the turnover penalty. That helped to keep Wales scoreless for 160 minutes of rugby against the Springboks.

The next try was building but too slow for those who prefer the Springboks to always be clinical. Jesse Kriel came close in getting a second and once Wales was given a yellow card warning for repeated offences, they had their backs to the wall. They did hold up a brilliant Bok maul over their line, but that just delayed the inevitable.

Who else to score than Herschel Jantjies, now from Bayonne, who had to wait three years for his 25th Test cap. Williams was instrumental in this one, setting up Jantjies with a great burst and a pass to his inside. Wales had more troubles, with replacement prop Ben Warren send to the bunker for a high tackle on Marco van Staden in the lead-up to the try.

They were made to pay for that soon after. The Boks opted for a lineout drive from a penalty and after several bashes up by the forwards, Libbok floated a pass to Kurt-Lee Arendse, who scored in the corner. That pushed the score to 36-0 after 68 minutes of play.

De Villiers then scored his first Test try from a line-out drive and nothing could be more deserved that that. Libbok converted for a 43-0 win.

Score

Springboks 43 (19) - Tries: Jasper Wiese, Cobus Reinach, Jesse Kriel, Jaco Williams, Herschel Jantjies, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Paul de Villiers. Conversions: Vusi Moyo (3), Manie Libbok.

Wales 0