2 hours Ago By [email protected] (John Jones)
Wales fell to their 12th successive Test match defeat as they were beaten 45-12 by a powerful South Africa side in Cardiff . Warren Gatland's side put up a brave performance but were ultimately battered into submission by the Springboks, who ran in seven tries in a dominant performance. It was only tries from Rio Dyer and star man James Botham that ensured that Wales got points on the board, with the gulf in class between the two sides more evident than ever.
The defeat not only extends Wales' miserable record losing run but means that they have now finished the calendar year winless for the first time since 1937, with the Welsh Rugby Union now set to launch a review into an awful autumn campaign in the coming days. Here's what the rest of the national media made of another difficult day for Wales. Daily Mail - 'Clear gulf shows how far Wales have fallen' A comprehensive seven-try victory for South Africa, the back-to-back world champions, was no surprise.
But the clear gulf in class between the two sides in terms of physicality and rugby quality showed how far Wales have fallen behind rugby’s elite. Wales are hoping their review into the performance of Gatland’s side – as well as a new agreement with their four professional sides – will be completed before Christmas . It means that a decision on Gatland’s future will not come immediately, but realistically by the middle of December.
It is understood that any decision to move on from Gatland – if that is the direction of travel taken – will not be hindered by financial factors. Gatland has indicated his eagerness to stay, although one wonders whether the severe criticism he has taken this month may have changed his mind. The only saving grace for those of a Welsh persuasion was this result wasn’t quite as bad as their 96-13 defeat by South Africa in 1998 which remains the country’s record loss.
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It wasn’t long ago that Wales’ supporters expected to beat South Africa. Now, things couldn’t be more different. Welsh rugby has a long way to go.
The Telegraph - 'Quality of play and fitness should have alarm bells ringing' Not quite the record-breaking massacre everyone had feared, just a stark reminder of the gulf in class between these two teams. South Africa won comfortably without playing at their best against a raw Welsh outfit who, while gritty and battling until the end, were simply no match for the absurd power of the world champions’ scrum or their lethal pace out wide. This always threatened to be a chastening experience for Wales, with only 339 caps to South Africa’s 963, and so it proved.
The Springboks finished with seven tries and there might have been many more had it not been for a few desperate try-saving stops. Jac Morgan has made 55 tackles in less than a week. It was fitting that James Botham grabbed the latest of Wales’ consolation tries having battled so hard to keep South Africa out at the other end.
This is what it has come to for Wales, who have now lost 12 Tests in a row, clutching at scant positives having conceded 97 points to South Africa and Australia over the past two weeks. Compared to the desperate mood that followed last Sunday’s loss to the Wallabies, however, here it was surprisingly positive. .
..Lots of good effort from Wales, sure, but it’s the quality of play and fitness which should have alarm bells ringing.
If Gatland is to stay, and the wind appears to be blowing in that direction, then Wales at all levels have to come together to get through a mountain of work in order to be competitive for their Six Nations opener in Paris. Get the latest breaking news sent directly to your phone with our free WhatsApp service here. The Guardian - 'This thumping defeat was as good as it was going to get' Another week, another record defeat.
This time Wales went down by 33 points to South Africa, which is the worst beating they have ever had from the Springboks in a home game. It’s their 12th straight defeat, at the fag end of a year in which they have lost every single match they have played. The Welsh Rugby Union says it will hold the usual end-of-series review, although, given just how bad the results have been, this time it is going to bring in a couple of independent experts to help with it.
You have to wonder exactly what anyone hopes to learn that isn’t already apparent. So far as summaries go, there was a pretty good one in the match programme, where the WRU president, Terry Cobner, wrote: “We can’t question the players’ commitment but at this moment in time we are just not good enough.” Cobner’s prescription is that they need to “keep working as hard as we can till we turn this corner”.
The worst thing about this particular defeat was that they played pretty well, in a way. They did not quit tackling, which stopped South Africa scoring three or four more tries, and picked off a couple of their own in the final minutes of both the first and second halves. It was a grittily determined performance, but that only leaves the uncomfortable conclusion that this thumping defeat was about as good as it was ever going to get for this team, who, let’s not forget, won five matches out of six against these opponents when Gatland was in his pomp as a head coach.
The Times - 'Everyone must share the blame' You know when you are struggling when you have to hail what was almost a record home defeat for Wales as if it was an improvement, but in the sense that Wales were not nearly as feeble as they were last week against Australia, then an improvement is exactly what it was and it was typified when this smaller, way less experienced, less powerful and more youthful Welsh team managed to score in the last act of the match, with James Botham — easily their best player, barging over to score. And again on the subject of rather feeble consolations, Wales conceded only three tries in the second half when at half-time they were staring down the barrel at a cricket score, if that is not a mixed metaphor. The media interest will surround Warren Gatland , the coach who has presided over a record 12 defeats on the trot and yet who has been so short of players for so many reasons that he had to send out a team with only one lineout jumper, players out of position, and others who have barely dipped their toes in professional rugby anywhere.
These could not even be remote rivals to the massive expertise and frankly, the massive size and experience of what was in many positions the South Africa second team. In my opinion Gatland must stay and he should extract a promise from the Welsh Rugby Union, his employers, and from the four professional regions that they do not leave him almost skint of class players, way down in terms of experience and true craft. Everyone must share the blame, especially the regional teams who have shown absolute world class in whinging and holding meetings rather than at least pretending that they are part of a national cause.
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