South Africa vs Wales

Lydiate and centre George North return to international rugby after more than a year away from the Test match arena because of serious knee injuries. Head coach ...

And soon after the South Africa hooker is over! Penalty to the Springboks for holding on and another visit to the Wales 22. Dan Biggar is again spoken to about his team’s discipline. The tighthead is helped on to a cart to be taken off, head and neck protected. The conversion is missed. Jones is joined among the replacements by fellow British and Irish Lions player Josh Navidi, with Tomos Williams providing scrum-half cover for Kieran Hardy.

Lake powers over from a maul, pressure on Biggar to potentially seal Wales' first ever win on South African soil. The pressure seeps through, he clips it wide.

It's been scrappy from the hosts with another spillage from South Africa leading to the first scrum. The pandemic has prevented them from attending matches in South Africa of late. South Africa had a prolonged time in attack but Wales have once again forced the hosts to kick the ball away. Ten of the World Cup squad start against Wales in Pretoria. South Africa win it back as Hardy delays his put in, Kolisi pushed the scrum-half afterwards with Biggar having a few choice words for his opposition skipper. The kick from Jantjies goes dead though, the fly-half having a rough start to this, and so there's a Wales scrum. South Africa win a penalty as Elias holds on at the breakdown. Wales had full control in the first half, blowing South Africa away. South Africa are on the hunt for another try now, it is tense in Pretoria! Kolbe knocked the ball forward but the ref was playing an advantage in South Africa's favour. South Africa defend it perfectly though as they push them into touch. Kolbe made a great break and South Africa could taste blood.

Dave McHugh, the former Irish referee, was my coach for the last three or four years of my career. He was out there refereeing South Africa v New Zealand in ...

They are going to have to get parity in the physical aspects of it. The stadiums will be passionate and the Springboks will want that physical encounter against us which is the way they like to play the game. But this is going to be a different level for him now. They need to know who are going to be the 12 referees going to the World Cup in France next year. It’s going to be really tough for us. When you are in some of the grounds in New Zealand and Australia, because they are shared with cricket, the atmosphere is not as intense. The supporters, for their part, will be desperate to get back into the grounds. When they are full, you are playing against the country then. But it’s different in South Africa where the crowd are right on top of you. This series against Wales will be their first chance to get the fans out and fill the stadiums since Covid, with the restrictions on crowd numbers being lifted. He was out there refereeing South Africa v New Zealand in 2002 when a big Springbok fan got so agitated with his decisions he ran on the pitch and tackled him. But it’s also a very difficult place to go and referee because they are so passionate about their rugby and when they lose they are not happy at all!

A Louis Rees-Zammit try three minutes into first Test in Pretoria gives Wales an early lead over the world champions South Africa.

Willemse made no mistake and it was heartbreak yet again for Wales in South Africa. The Boks needed just six minutes in the second half to score their first try. He kicked ahead, collected the ball and touched down. He now averages a try nearly every two games for his country. From the penalty, South Africa set a maul from a five-metre lineout and were awarded a penalty try, with Rhys Carre shown yellow for collapsing the maul, which meant Wales were reduced to 12 players for a couple of minutes. Rees-Zammit’s first opportunity came after Will Rowlands had disrupted a South Africa lineout.