Autumn Internationals: Wales beat South Africa 12-6 in Cardiff
Last Updated: 01/12/14 3:53pm
Wales ended their 15 year wait for victory against South Africa with a hard-fought 12-6 triumph over the Springboks at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Leigh Halfpenny kicked all the points from the tee as Warren Gatland registered only his second win in 28 matches against SANZAR teams as Wales coach. They had previously lost 22 straight games against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand
Wales, who lost to world champions New Zealand last weekend, took only their second win in 30 attempts against the Springboks, and a first for 15 years.
The result will send them into February's RBS Six Nations opener against England with topped up confidence levels, while they also gained a slight psychological edge ahead of a possible World Cup quarter-final appointment with South Africa next October.
Although the game was not a free-flowing spectacle, Wales deservedly prevailed after digging deep into their stamina reserves and shading the key physical battles.
The Wales scrum enjoyed an outstanding afternoon and South Africa could make little headway, frustrated by a lack of quality possession that meant they could not unleash dangerous runners like full-back Willie le Roux and centre Jan Serfontein.
Lack in attack
There were few attacking openings for either side, but Wales controlled the critical moments and kept their composure when the heat came on, giving Wales boss Warren Gatland one of his finest moments since he took charge seven years ago.
And to complete a miserable afternoon for South Africa, whose points came through two Pat Lambie penalties, they saw captain Jean de Villiers carried off midway through the second half after suffering what appeared to be a serious leg injury.
Halfpenny and Lambie exchanged penalties during the opening 10 minutes, but a second Halfpenny attempt then struck the post, frustrating the home side as they hoped to make their early territorial dominance count.
There were few clear-cut attacking opportunities early on, with both sides relying heavily on their respective kicking games, but South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth was fortunate to escape a yellow card following a high challenge on Wales fly-half Dan Biggar.
Wales, in an attempt to convert pressure into points, twice opted for 13-man lineouts, with only Baldwin and scrum-half Rhys Webb not involved as they camped close to South Africa's line.
But such clever thinking outside of the box did not reap a reward, and South Africa moved upfield to create a sustained spell of pressure, forcing Wales into defensive mode.
Dominance
South Africa enjoyed dominance during the dying minutes of the first half but they could find no way through either, and Wales trooped off facing a final 40-minute battle to end their autumn campaign.
Both sides came out with plenty of intent as the second half swung into action, but it was Wales who regained the lead through Halfpenny's second successful penalty after South Africa were punished for not releasing possession.
Irish referee John Lacey kept a vice-like grip on the contest and there was no leeway for either team, and the Springboks quickly drew level through another Lambie strike, this time from 50 metres.
Defences continued to dominate and South Africa conceded another penalty after they tried to run possession from deep inside their 22. Such adventure backfired when tighthead prop Coenie Oosthuizen infringed and Halfpenny completed his penalty hat-trick.
That was the cue for Springboks head coach Heyneke Meyer to make a double substitution, sending on prop Trevor Nyakane instead of Tendai Mtawarira and replacing flanker Teboho Mohoje with Nizaam Carr.
As the third quarter neared its conclusion, South Africa were still encountering problems breaching Wales' defence, and then a mighty Welsh scrum had the Springboks in all sorts of trouble and Halfpenny's fourth successful penalty made it 12-6 before Springboks wing Cornal Hendricks was sin-binned for a dangerous challenge on Halfpenny.