The Welsh team suffered a historic 73-0 defeat against South Africa, marking the end of a forgettable year for Welsh rugby. The match, played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, highlighted the superiority of the Springboks, who scored eleven tries and inflicted Wales’ worst home defeat.
The match had a controversial ending when Eben Etzebeth, South Africa’s replacement player, was sent off for assaulting Alex Mann. The direct red card was shown by referee Luc Ramos after video revealed that Etzebeth introduced his thumb into Mann’s left eye during a scuffle between players from both teams. This was the first red card in Etzebeth’s career, which spanned 141 matches and 13 years.
South Africa, which will finish 2025 at the top of the world ranking for the third consecutive year, dominated the match from the start, reaching halftime with a 28-0 lead. The tries were scored by Gerhard Steenekamp, Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese and Morne van der Berg. In the second half, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored two tries, while Wilco Louw, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Ruan Nortje and Etzebeth himself also contributed to the lopsided victory.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who studied at Llandovery College in Carmarthenshire as part of an exchange program, added 18 additional points with his foot, reaching a total of 28 personal points.In a year marked by multiple disappointments, Wales suffered their second defeat without scoring points in 2025, after the 43-0 defeat against France in the Six Nations.
The defeat raises serious questions about the Welsh Rugby Union’s decision to schedule this match, especially considering that Wales was forced to field a weakened team, without its 13 players who play in leagues in England and France, because the match was played outside the official World Rugby test window.
South Africa, although it also had casualties due to club commitments, was able to count on a very talented squad. Their bench alone had more international matches than the entire Wales team.
The dominance of South Africa was evident from the first scrum, with Steenekamp scoring the first try. South Africa’s scrum superiority led to a second try, and by the end of the first half they had already scored four.
The second half was no less catastrophic for Wales, with Louw, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Moodie adding more points for South Africa.
Wales played 20 minutes of the second half with two players less due to the yellow cards shown to Taine Plumtree and Aaron Wainwright, while South Africa continued their overwhelming performance.
Esterhuizen scored a try and Feinberg-Mngomezulu added another before Nortje and Etzebeth, who could face a lengthy suspension, closed out the scoring, marking the beginning of an exhaustive analysis of Welsh rugby.
