Quick Tap: Wales 13 - 16 South Africa Takeaways

A day after England crusaded through the All Blacks, we witnessed a much tenser affair as Wales took on South Africa. The game was billed to be an arm wrestle between two similar teams, and so it proved from the outset. A game dominated by kicks (73 in all) and physical defence, where each team was looking to prey off the opponent's mistakes. In the end, it came down to a single two minute period of play, to just about put the Springboks into the final. So how did that come about, here are the takeaways from South Africa's victory.

South Africa claimed a hard earned victory, de Allende scored their only try of the game in a
wonderful solo effort.

1. South African Biltong
Wales won the Grand Slam in March with a phase-play focused game, intent on holding onto the ball for 15, 20 phases until eventually they won a penalty, or scored. It was simple and more than effective against the likes of England and Ireland. However, on Sunday, they came up against some absolute monsters who physically dwarfed. The South African tacklers were intent on burying every, single, Welshman into the turf (sometimes with questionable legality). It was a show of brute strength and exactly the same way they knocked the host nation out. Wales could never get over the gain-line and instead were left with the worst meters per carry stat in World Cup history by the end of the game.

du Toit was especially physical against Wales.

The Springbok physicality wasn't just limited to defence, it also flexed its muscle at the set-piece. The advantage in the scrum didn't appear from the outset, the Welsh props doing a fine job early on, but eventually as legs got tired so did the Welsh scrum, and South Africa's replacements found purchase. Once again the lineout was imperious, letting South Africa form powerful driving mauls which ate up territory and time. Best showcased by the match-winning penalty, despite an initial hold by Wales, technique and experience found a way to gain momentum and shift the point of contact until Wales were forced to concede a penalty.

Wales, on the other hand, couldn't pull off the same effect moments before, despite decent field position with a lineout and a couple of phases put them in a commanding position, a handful of breakdowns later, Patchell was having to hit a 45m drop goal attempt with no setup. It flew wide and shortly afterwards South Africa won the game. The dominance in the physical aspect is what won this game for South Africa.

2. The Injury Curse
You won't catch anyone from the Welsh camp using the injury list as an excuse, but it cannot be denied it had an impact on the game. Between, the players lost before the tournament, the ones ruled out in the week leading up to the semi, and the two who left the field before half time Wales were down nigh on half their starting team. No amount of depth development could overcome the list that Gatland has had to endure.

Losing any Lions test
player is a blow.

Ahead of the game, Wales lost both Josh Navidi and Liam Williams, both players who were ideally suited for facing the Springboks. Navidi for his ferocity in the tackle and his support work at the breakdown, both of which were missed against huge South Africans. And while Leigh Halfpenny was a brilliant replacement for Williams, and was superb under the rain of kicks, the South Africans weren't afraid of his ability to run the ball back. Without Liam Williams, Wales' attack looked a little blunt.

Losing players before a game can be overcome, you've got time to integrate new players and tweak game plans. Losing players mid-game is a different prospect. Let's just consider the two players that Wales did lose in that opening half. Tomos Francis had been a rock for Wales all tournament, establishing a stable platform at scrum time, even against the fearsome Georgian and French props. His work around the field cannot be discounted either, he makes a ridiculous number of tackles for a tight-head, especially one who first came to the international game weighing over 20st.

At the other end of the team sheet, George North's innocuous hamstring tear significantly changed the way Wales were playing the game. Up until that point Wales had not been shy with their ambition to spread the ball wide, getting outside the 13-channel and getting their powerful wingers into space. It had yielded significant gains during the opening salvos and had the Springbok defence reeling. But after North left the field - after heroically chasing a cross-field kick on one leg - Wales instantly resorted to their forward carry, phase play focused, game plan. And it cost them. South Africa were able to slow the ball down, and make man on man tackles where their physical size could play its part. Owen Watkin is a great player, and has the potential to be a stalwart for years to come, but he is not a winger, and Wales were reluctant to get him involved the way they had with North.

Injuries can change games, especially games decided by a such small margins.

George North was having his best game of the tournament, before he too was hit by the Welsh
injury curse. It cost Wales a lot, especially in attack.

3. Bad kicks look good
Let's start with a cliche, "A kick is only as good as its chase". This usually applies when - despite a superbly accurate intelligent kick - the returning team find a hole in the defence and slice through. It highlights that no matter how good a kick is if no one is chasing up then it's often irrelevant. Well, last Sunday, it was the opposite. Gareth Davies and Faf de Klerk were both guilty of some truly horrific box kicks at times, only moving the ball about five to ten metres downfield. And yet, due to both teams strict organisation on kick defence, these ones actually proved the most fruitful. Putting panic into opponent teams, getting the ball back (often themselves), and providing a sudden spark of momentum. Maybe there's a sneaky tactic to be exploited here that some brilliant minded coach will snap up for the next World Cup. Maybe...

Scrum halves on both sides were inconsistent
in their kicking.

As previously mentioned, the game, on the whole, was a kick-fest, with a lot of the game being played between the 22's, it meant neither team really wanted to have the ball, and preferred to kick downfield. Both teams had clearly come into the game with a plan to kick the ball from turnover. Clearly shown by the ten-second period where Hadleigh Parkes turned the ball over, twice, and each time he tried to hoof it down field (by the way, neither kick worked). It was not a classic game, it wasn't as exciting as you'd like from a semi-final, and some people lamented it as an awful game. I feel the kicking just increased the tension every time, who was going to make the critical mistake, who would find the breakthrough. It was enthralling and you couldn't take your eyes away.

That being said, the irony of it all was the fact that both teams looked great when they actually decided to run and pass the ball. Wales in the opening quarter were unleashing an inventive attack which regularly got players like North, Adams, and Jonathan Davies into space. South Africa's try came from Pollard changing it up, running the ball at the line, putting his team on the front foot, and two phases later de Allende is over in the corner. It seemed weird that both teams have shown, in this tournament, their ability to play wide games, and yet neither really utilised it in a game where it could have proven the difference.