Springboks savour sweet November after victory over Wales

It was a sweet November for the Springboks who completed their unbeaten run in the UK with a resounding 45-12 victory over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

Against an inexperienced Wales team, victory was largely expected for the Rugby World Cup and Rugby Championship holders who added the Prince William Cup to their bulging trophy cabinet.

The win in Cardiff handed the Boks an 11th win in 13 Test matches this year. Their only blemishes came against Ireland in Durban when they were denied by two stunning late drop goals and Argentina in Santiago when they fielded a less experienced team. That they achieved an 84 win percentage in 2024 is all the more remarkable considering they used 52 players.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus said the players’ patience with all the squad rotations throughout the season was admirable. “It was nice for the team to have achieved all of that,” he said.

“I was worried at first about how the players will take the swapping, but we were honest with them at the beginning of the season, and they all bought into the plan, which is admirable.

“We are satisfied with the scoreboard, and the year in general,” Erasmus said. “And one must applaud the players for their effort, especially since we made so many changes. It’s rewarding that we were able to finish the year using 50 players. We lost rhythm at times, but the way Siya [Kolisi] and the other leaders kept the group together was special.

“We also got a new attack and defence coach in this year (Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery) and the way they slotted in and assisted the team was fantastic.”

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said credit was owed to Erasmus for the team’s success this season and over the past few years. Kolisi, who played in his 92nd Test in Cardiff, said the way Erasmus took the pressure off him as the captain was instrumental in the team’s success.

“We are so lucky with the kind of leadership we have in this group, and the way coach Rassie set up the group and took the pressure away from me with everyone having their own pressure points really helps,” Kolisi said.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved, and the younger me would have never thought I would be here, and that’s why it’s all so special.

“We now have to go back to our unions and clubs and have to wait six months to fight again for our places in the squad for next year.”

The game in Cardiff produced a mixed bag.

Wales looked on course for an embarrassing defeat but they did not drop their bundle and showed fight that helped knock the rampant Boks off their stride.

The Boks played with fluidity in the opening half-hour but mistakes crept into their attack thereafter. Still, they ran in seven tries with leading roles for man-of-the-match Franco Mostert, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse and props Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw, among others.

“Wales are a gutsy team and having been part of the first team that lost against them in 1999, I can attest to that,” Erasmus said. “They are a tough bunch and they could have laid down when we had built a good lead, especially given how hard we were going at them, but they fought and hung in there and scored again at the end.”