Wales vs South Africa Review – Autumn Nations 2025
Wales 0 – 73 South Africa
So that was something…
Though not as wide a scoreline as their 96-13 loss against the Springboks in 1998, this is the kind of scoreline that shows the gap between Wales and the top sides. Down some of their Japan-based stars like Cheslin Kolbe and Pieter-Steph du Toit, Rassie’s men showed why this kind of limitation doesn’t matter to them; barring some errors at the start, they were completely merciless towards Wales and had them beat in every category. Any areas which felt underdeveloped at the halfway mark of 0-28 were immediately cleaned up, and their bench meant that forward control remained consistent across 80 minutes.
With how resilient Wales have been staring down some of the strongest sides in World Rugby this year, they were visibly rattled by the time the visitors scored their sixth try; nothing they did could hold them back as the Springboks’ gameplan was clear; move the ball quickly and carry hard into contact, wearing down Welsh stamina until they can go wide or make a linebreak. For the first half, the visitors held majority possession, and capitalised on that throughout the game as Wales lacked the resources to compete for 80 minutes. A sour note to end what looked like an optimistic campaign.
On a pettier note; why did we play this again? It’s understandable that this fixture was arranged back in 2017 when Wales were, unbelievable as it is to imagine in today’s climate, better than South Africa, but the WRU can’t genuinely believe that such a fixture will develop players in the long-term when they are this far behind their opposition. This Autumn, Wales have played, by relative power, 3 of the 5 strongest teams in World Rugby, and the obvious impact these losing streaks can have on the players seems to be ignored. There wasn’t much more Tandy or his men could do here, and the only hope going forward is that the team can put this mauling behind them, put in solid shifts for their clubs, and come back stronger for it with a plan for the Six Nations. But from an outside perspective, this felt like a waste.
Player Ratings:
1: Gareth Thomas 3
Not an improvement from last week. The Boks may be intimidating opposition, but his immediate struggles at scrumtime put Wales on the backfoot from where they never really recovered. Was also sloppy at the breakdown and invisible on attack.
2: Dewi Lake 6
One messed up lineout hampered what was otherwise a solid evening despite the odds. Lake had a significant impact on both sides of the ball and fought deep into the game, showing the kind of passion expected from the captain.
3: Keiron Assiratti 5
A disappointing outing, but fair play given how long he had to stay on field. Never backed down and the scrum stabilised eventually, but this was not his game in the end. Can at least end the autumn with credit in the bank after his last few performances
4: Ben Carter 6
One of Wales’ most underrated players, and though he couldn’t impose himself against the larger Springbok pack, he didn’t miss a beat with his tackles. Kept a characteristic level-head and threw out some big hits where needed, though he’s been more dominant in the past.
5: Rhys Davies 4
Was hyped up for his strong carrying and abrasive playstyle, but barely got the ball and was generally outshined by everyone else. Not what he needed to prove his value to the squad.
6: Taine Plumtree 4
Couldn’t stamp out his discipline issues nor really manage the Springboks’ physical onslaught. His tackle-rip on Kwaga Smith was nice, but looked out of his depth at the breakdown
7: Alex Mann 6
Weak first half, but grew into the game and generated some turnovers for Wales. Likely won’t wear this jersey much going forward, but in context, he had a great game given the unwinnable physical battle and his lack of experience.
8: Aaron Wainwright 7
Wales’ best player overall; even that nasty eye injury couldn’t hold him back as he injected energy into the forward pack with ball in hand. Would;ve also been higher up the tackle chart if not for his injury, as he made the second-most tackles per minute of anyone involved. Becoming instrumental to the squad if he wasn’t already
9: Kieran Hardy 4
Is not Tomos Williams. Which isn’t an issue in and of itself, as Williams is a world-class scrum-half, but the difference in speed of ball was felt and South Africa had no trouble predicting his runs and capitalising on the breakdown. Whenever he slipped up, it was noticed.
10: Dan Edwards 4
Couldn’t control the game nearly as well as usual, and utterly botched on restart. Distributed well for the most part, but was targeted on defence and yielded too often.
11: Rio Dyer 7
He’s still got it; was consistently involved in Wales’ attack and actually put in a solid defensive shift with 9 tackles. His kick-chase skills kept the pressure on, though Ethan Hooker outplayed him for the former’s try.
12: Joe Hawkins 4
Probably wished he was playing for the Scarlets this week; poor defensive work with a 67% tackle rate and got tangled up with Roberts more than you’d expect given their experience together. Kicked well to be fair.
13: Joe Roberts 5
Same problems as Hawkins, but brought a little more on attack with his carries. The Springboks just had more than enough class in the midfield to manage anything he could output, however.
14: Ellis Mee 5
A mixed performance; on attack, he was energetic and solid under the high-ball, keeping the pressure on otherwise strong performances from Canan Moodie and Damien Willemse. However, he was turned over too frequently and largely outplayed on defence. Good potential, but has room to develop at this level.
15: Blair Murray 6
His best outing of the autumn, as he consistently played with energy and beat 4 defenders as South Africa were pressured to check him. Still struggled under the high ball, but if Tandy wants to persist with him at fullback, he seems to be developing the measures to make it work.
BENCH
16: Brodie Coghlan N/A
Made a pretty solid carry and Wales’ final maul looked promising, but not enough to analyse.
17: Danny Southworth 4
No match for the gigantic Asenathi Ntlabakanye at the scrum, and while he made a decent carry, didn’t really impact the game much.
18: Christian Coleman N/A
Was injured almost immediately after entering the field, forcing Assiratti back on. Will need to wait longer to show his untapped potential
19: James Ratti N/A
Not much difference between him and Rhys Davies
20: Morgan Morse 6
Chased Canan Moodie well given he’s a forward, and almost caused his try to be voided as a result. Kept up with Wainwright when covering for him, and generally showed why he should be invested in going forward.
21: Reuben Morgan-Williams 4
Quicker service rate, but ran into the same problems as Hardy; Wales’ breakdown was completely destroyed by the time he hit the field and he couldn’t get enough work done to fix it.
22: Callum Sheedy 4
Brought a bit more in attack than Edwards, but far from error-proof as his awkward wide pass showed. Not much more he could do beyond distribute.
23: Ben Thomas N/A
Could’ve been interesting to see his potential at 15 if Wales weren’t so far on the backfoot.
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