South African media reacts to shock loss to Wales

The South African media showed signs of frustration after their national team suffered a surprise loss to Wales in the second test of their summer series.

The low-scoring contest ended 13-12 in the visitors’ favour, with a late Josh Adams try and an impressive touchline conversion from Gareth Anscombe sealing the victory.

Wales had lost their last 11 contests played against the Springboks on South African soil, spanning a 58-year period. That losing run has now ended but the blame for this turn of fortune has been placed on the hosts’ squad overhaul which saw 19 new players come into the Springbok line-up ahead of the weekend, six of those being debutants.

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That selection policy has drawn plenty of criticism from corners of the South African media who believe coach Jacques Nienaber made an error of judgement. Craig Lewis of The South African was one such critic.

“In fairness, the national coaches will surely, in hindsight, realise that they made an error by completely overhauling the matchday squad, rather than mixing some first-choice regulars with some back-up players who deserved an opportunity,” he wrote.

“For next Saturday’s third and decisive Test, there is every reason to believe a full-strength Bok side will achieve a comfortable victory, and ultimately this would enable them to reflect on the Bloemfontein clash as a worthwhile ‘experiment’.

“It’s clear that the Boks didn’t get their selections for this Test correct in every aspect, but there really was very little to lose in the grand scheme of things.”

Mike Greenaway, writing for the IOL, was also critical of the squad overhaul but understood the benefits of blooding players to ensure the squad depth remains comprehensive.

“It will be debated whether it was a Pyrrhic victory given that the Boks had controversially overhauled their team from the first Test but the history books do not care for detail, and there will be many South Africans who will curse the Boks’ coaching staff for gambling on a Test match.

“The counter-argument is that if the Boks defend their World Cup title next year after having grown their depth via matches such as this, then nobody will care what happened on this evening when a number of Young Turks were blended into the mix.

“This was a day when the northern hemisphere struck back after a whitewash last week, with wins by Ireland and England over New Zealand and Australia respectively, preceding kick-off in South Africa.

“To be fair, in the build up to this game the word disrespect had been bandied about in both camps regarding the 14 changes to the Springboks’ team, but it did not take long after kick-off for that nonsense to evaporate into the Free State night as an absorbing arm wrestle became evident.

Mark Keohane, of KEO.co.za, chose to commend Gareth Anscombe for his match-winning conversion and argued the flyhalf has cemented his place in contemporary folklore with his exploits yesterday.

“The experience of Wales, coupled with the inexperience of the Boks and very poor game management in the final 15 from the South Africans, combined for the wrong kind of history when Josh Adams scored in the 78th minute and Gareth Anscombe converted from the touchline.

“Anscombe is Kiwi-born and played for the New Zealand under 20s coached by his dad.

“But in Welsh folklore he will only ever be thought of as pure-bred Welsh, and rightly so.

“If any team deserved something on a trip it was this Welsh team in South Africa. Bring on the finale in Cape Town.”

In Sport 24, Heinz Schenk drew particular attention to the yellow card administered to Alun Wyn Jones for playing the ball in the ruck, and how that decision might have actually helped Wales on their way to winning.

“An imperfect but composed Wales made history on Saturday evening by valiantly securing a dramatic 13-12 victory over the Springboks — their first ever on African soil — to set up the perfect finale in the three-match series in Cape Town next week.

“When veteran lock Alun Wyn Jones was yellow carded by referee Angus Gardner for a patently ridiculous hands-in call — he never touched the ball — circumstance was seemingly conspiring against the Welsh, who also saw inspirational pivot and skipper Dan Biggar leave the field.

“However, that adversity actually proved a catalyst as they clawed their way back, primarily because the Springbok combination, now featuring a raft of replacements, lost their composure.”