The South African Springboks concluded their undefeated European tour with a devastating 73-0 victory over Wales at a sparsely-filled Principality Stadium on Saturday. However, the record win was overshadowed by a late disciplinary incident involving star lock, Eben Etzebeth.
Mismatch Leads to Record Loss
The dominant performance saw South Africa inflict Wales’ worst-ever home defeat (and second-worst overall). It was also the first time Wales had been held scoreless in Cardiff since 1967.
- Scoreline: South Africa 73 – 0 Wales
- Tries: The Springboks scored 11 tries in total.
- Standouts: Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu contributed 28 individual points through one try and nine successful goal kicks from 11 attempts. Midfielder Andre Esterhuizen was named Player of the Match.
Etzebeth’s Red Card
In the dying moments of the match, the triumphant performance was scarred when Eben Etzebeth, in his record-extending 141st Test, was issued a permanent red card for an eye gouge on Welsh player Alex Mann during a melee.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed the gravity of the foul: “It was a justified red card… that’s not the way we want to play.”
Wales Depleted and Outmatched
Wales, playing this fixture outside the official Test window, was unable to select 13 key players based in England and France. This left a highly inexperienced squad to face the double World Champions.
- Player Disparity: South Africa’s bench (the controversial 7-1 split) boasted 374 caps—more than the entire Welsh starting team (306 caps).
- Coach’s View: Wales coach Steve Tandy acknowledged the difficult necessity of the match: “We don’t want to put the boys through this but we did… we need caps.”
- Scrum Dominance: The inexperienced Welsh forward pack was overwhelmed by the Boks’ scrum, which launched the first five tries of the game.
The Springboks were ahead 28-0 at halftime and ruthlessly expanded their lead, particularly when Wales had two players sin-binned (Taine Plumtree and Aaron Wainwright), during which time the score ballooned from 35-0 to 61-0. Coach Erasmus praised the overall performance, calling it “one of the more clinical performances.”
