By Dylan MacIsaac
Wales completed a calendar year of defeats for the first time since 1937 as South Africa strolled to the expected mammoth win at Principality Stadium.
A 12th straight loss was no great surprise for Warren Gatland’s men, and the head coach is now expected to learn whether his immediate future in the job is secure by the end of the week.
And in what is proving to be a dark period for Welsh rugby, those who faced up to the world champions didn’t offer the 67,236 fans in attendance much hope from the start, with an uninspiring first 10 minutes yielding a pair of tries for the Springboks.
Franco Mostert opened the account on six minutes after a series of delicate passes down the right-hand side, and the conversion was successful from Jordan Hendrikse. Hendrikse, who was joined on the field today by his brother Jaden, had a busy day, converting four of seven attempts and adding a try of his own in the final minute.
Wales spent more first half minutes inside their own 22 than outside, and was no surprise when brilliant winger Cheslin Kolbe broke through the lines and offloaded inside to lock Eben Etzebeth who crossed the line in the ninth minute to make it 12-0.
Wales were dominated in every facet of play. South Africa were overpowering, significantly more skilful and much more disciplined.
At the start of the second quarter Kurt-Lee Arendse wrong-footed two Welsh defenders out wide for an easy score.
Even by then damage limitation set in for the inexperienced Welsh side who were let off the hook with two more disallowed tries from Aphelele Fassi and Siya Kolisi sparing their embarrassment.
Elrigh Louw inflicted further pain with a 40th minute try from a crafty tap-and-go just shy of the Welsh five-metre line, leaving the simplest of conversions for Hendrikse to make it 26-0.
Wing Rio Dyer eventually put the home side on the board after breaching a mammoth, five-minute try-line stand from the visitors.
And Wales carried this momentum into the second half, gaining a foothold and managing to contain South Africa to their own half for the opening 10 minutes.
But the Boks soon regrouped and Fassi made up for his earlier disallowed try with a bursting solo run down the left sideline to make it 31-5 just short of the hour mark.
The onslaught persisted. Gerhard Steenkamp made it 36-5 as he snuck out of the back of a crowd to dive over the line and score.
Another successful conversion from Hendrikse made it 38-5, and the South African number 10 added a further try which he converted in the 80th minute for their final points of the day at 45-5.
The large deficit never stopped Wales’ high energy, and they rallied during a scrappy battle at the tryline for what could hardly even be considered a consolation try from James Botham.
This left the final score at 45-12 after a conversion from Ben Thomas deep into extra time
The lack of experience shone through for Wales, and South Africa’s well-drilled attack and power was overwhelming. The scoreline, albeit emphatic, potentially flattered the hosts considering those three disallowed Bok tries along with countless close calls somewhat spared their blushes.
Wales need time as a group to gel, and next years Six Nations will be the litmus test for how well these players are actually developing.
And the question is whether Gatland will still be in charge come February. We’ll know soon enough.