South Africa score seven tries in 43-0 rout of Wales to lead Nations Championship

Bonus-point win sends Springboks top

South Africa needed a bonus-point victory by at least 14 points to leapfrog New Zealand in the southern hemisphere standings after the All Blacks beat Ireland 40-21 earlier on Saturday. They achieved that 40 seconds into the second half when debutant wing Jaco Williams crossed in the corner, and added three more tries to run out 43-0 winners at Kings Park in Durban. The result gives the world champions a maximum 15 points from three rounds, ahead of New Zealand on points difference at the halfway stage of the new global competition. It was an 11th consecutive win for Rassie Erasmus's side, who rested several regulars including Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth.

First-half control despite errors

The Springboks were on the board inside five minutes. Lock Cobus Wiese burst through tackles and offloaded to his brother Jasper, the number eight, who barged over for the opening try. A dominant scrum, which won a penalty at the first engagement and demolished Wales at the second, then set up scrum-half Cobus Reinach to pick up and score easily. South Africa controlled possession and territory for the remainder of the half, but handling errors prevented further scores until centre Jesse Kriel went over after the halftime hooter for a 19-0 lead. Wales barely left their own half and were restricted to defensive work, though their rush defence and work rate limited the damage.

Second-half surge and debutants

The bonus point was secured immediately after the restart when Cobus Wiese again broke the line and fed Williams to score in the corner. Wales then enjoyed a rare spell deep in Springbok territory but could not penetrate the defence. Replacement scrum-half Herschel Jantjies added a fifth try, and after Wales substitute prop Ben Warren was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle, wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and flanker Paul de Villiers crossed late on. Fly-half Vusi Moyo, one of four debutants at age 20, settled after a nervy start to kick three conversions from four attempts before being replaced by Manie Libbok, who landed one of his three kicks.

De Villiers and Lake react

Springbok flanker Paul de Villiers admitted the performance was not polished.

You can see that on our faces. We wanted to bring our physicality and we did that in the set-piece, in our carries and our defence. The ball was a bit wet and cost us in execution.

Wales captain Dewi Lake found positives despite the scoreline.

I am massively proud of the boys. Some people might be shocked at me saying that when you look at the scoreboard, but it shows how much improvement there has been. If you compare that performance to the one in the autumn against the Springboks, there is a stark difference. We are not happy with the nil on the scoreboard, and there is a lot still to improve on, but we have had growth. We are only going to get better.

Wales's ongoing struggles

The defeat was Wales's second in a row after a 35-21 loss to Argentina, and they have now failed to score in back-to-back meetings with South Africa following a 73-0 home loss last November. The aggregate score across those two games stands at 116-0. Head coach Steve Tandy has finished his first season with nine defeats and three wins from 12 Tests, with victories only against Italy, Fiji and Japan. Wales lie 12th in the world rankings, while South Africa remain first.