Springboks make it a year-end clean sweep
REPORT: The back-to-back World Champions South Africa ended their 2024 international season on a flawless note, beating Wales 45-12 in Cardiff on Saturday.
The Springboks headed into the fixture as overwhelming favourites - and delivered.
They outscored Wales seven tries to two in front of 60,000 spectators at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
The win means Rassie Erasmus' team conclude their year-end tour on a clean sweep for the first time since 2013.
The Springboks recorded wins over Scotland, England and Wales.
It also means that this was their 11th victory from 13 matches in the year and a winning percentage of 84.6 – repeating the feat of 2023. It is also the highest seasonal percentage achieved since 1998 when 11 of 12 matches were won for a percentage of 91.7.
For Wales, it is a 12 consecutive defeat, which sees them conclude a calendar year without a win for the first time since 1937.
* Article continues below ...
[rp-mc-teams-match-summary id="3|941817|2024"][/rp-mc-teams-match-summary]
Man of the match: The Springboks were ruthless. Jasper Wiese deserves a mention for his solid work at the breakdown, while Franco Mostert was an absolute workhorse, making some monster hits. Cheslin Kolbe was lethal whenever he had the ball in hand. However our nod goes to Kurt-Lee Arendse, the wing was phenomenal on attack, setting up two tries and scoring one. On defence he was just as solid, putting in big hits.
Moment of the match: The Springboks dominated the 80 minutes, scoring some incredible tries. The moment had to be Rio Dyer's try in the 39th minute when 60,000 spectators erupted at the Millennium Stadium.
Villian of the match: NONE
The scorers:
For Wales:
Tries: Dyer, Botham
Con: Thomas
For South Africa:
Tries: Mostert, Etzebeth, Arendse, Louw, Fassi, Steenekamp, Jordan Hendrikse
Cons: Jordan Hendrikse 4
Teams:
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Josh Hathaway, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 James Botham, 5 Christ Tshiunza, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Eddie James, 23 Owen Watkin.
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Handre Pollard.
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Damian Schneider
TMO: Andrew Jackson