The Springboks produced a ruthless seven-try masterclass at a slippery Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, crushing Wales 43-0 to make it three wins from three in the inaugural Nations Championship — and they did it with a heavily rotated side featuring four debutants.
South Africa led 19-0 at half-time and never looked back, with seven different players crossing the whitewash in a performance that underlined the depth of the world champions’ squad, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
New Faces, Same Standards
Coach Rassie Erasmus made ten changes to his starting side and handed out four new caps, yet the machine barely missed a beat. Number eight Jasper Wiese opened the scoring in just the fifth minute, before scrum-half Cobus Reinach and centre Jesse Kriel added further first-half tries.
The second half began in explosive fashion: debutant wing Jaco Williams needed only 44 seconds after the restart to score on his home debut. Herschel Jantjies, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Paul de Villiers completed the rout.
Twenty-year-old flyhalf Vusi Moyo, on test debut, slotted three conversions in an assured first outing in the green and gold, with Manie Libbok adding another off the bench.
A Man of the Match in His Third Test
Fittingly for a day about depth, the Man of the Match award went to flanker Paul de Villiers — winning just his third cap — who capped his outstanding shift with a try of his own.
The defensive effort was every bit as impressive as the attack. Wales, who missed 29 tackles on the day, simply could not live with the Springboks’ power and pace, and South Africa’s defence pitched a shutout: not a single point conceded across the full 80 minutes.
Unbeaten and Rolling
The result completes a perfect southern hemisphere leg for the Springboks in the new-look Nations Championship:
- Three matches, three wins;
- Seven tries by seven different scorers against Wales;
- Only South Africa and New Zealand remain unbeaten in the competition.
The slippery conditions in Durban made handling difficult all afternoon, which makes the clinical finishing all the more impressive — every visit to the Welsh 22 seemed to end with points.
The tournament now pauses before resuming in November, when the Springboks head to Europe for the northern leg with top spot firmly in their sights.
For South African fans, the message from Kings Park was emphatic: the world champions are not just winning — they are building two or three deep in every position, with youngsters like Moyo, Williams and De Villiers proving the green-and-gold conveyor belt is running at full speed. The future, like the present, looks very bright indeed.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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