Boks smash Wales as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry draws near

And now for the real thing.

After seeing off their first three northern hemisphere teams 130-49, the next time the Springboks play on home soil, it’ll be against the All Blacks — the only other unbeaten team in the inaugural Nations Championship.

South Africa condemned Wales to another pointless performance as they ran out 43-0 winners in Durban last night.

Had they not made so many silly errors — several of them the result of a slippery ball — they might have got close to their 73-0 demolition job in Cardiff last year.

World Rugby’s structure of this new tournament has guaranteed the northern hemisphere a spot in the final, but the only two sides remaining undefeated after three rounds come from the south.

That may change when the tournament heads north in November, but for now it adds huge value to the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series that kicks off next month.

Yesterday’s contest, as messy as it was, unearthed yet more talent, with the four debutants all looking the part, especially young flyhalf Vusi Moyo.

Opening try

The No 10 had a hand in South Africa’s first try, fielding a kick upfield just inside the touchline, and then timing a perfect pass inside to Aphelele Fassi, who made a break to gain ground.

Cobus Wiese joined the charge forward before his brother, eighthman Jasper, broke through a tackle to score the opening try in the fifth minute. Moyo converted to bank his first international points.

The Bok scrum was as powerful as ever. When the Welsh had a 5m scrum, they got pushed backwards, with the referee awarding a scrum the other way, and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach darted through. Moyo converted again.

Throughout the first half, Moyo had his moments.

There was one piece of play that straddled brilliance and buffoonery where he dived over the touchline like a cricketer, knocking the ball back into the field of play, leaving it unguarded with the Welsh bearing down.

But Moyo popped up almost immediately and got to the ball first, diving onto it to avoid the attention of the first Welsh wave. Then he was up and launching a great counterattack that took the Boks back into the opposition half.

The youngster’s kicking varied. An early up-and-under didn’t travel far enough, and Wales took control of the ball, but other kicks of his were good, especially the one that set up his team’s third try just before halftime, a cross-kick where Jesse Kriel gathered the loose ball to go over in the corner.

Dominant pack

The thing about great flyhalfs is that they take time to master the craft; mistakes are part of the rite of passage. Then again, he was playing behind a dominant pack that is arguably the deadliest weapon in world rugby.

Veterans Pieter-Steph du Toit and Malcolm Marx were irrepressible as usual. Wiese, the eighthman, and his lock brother produced some good runs, and flanker Paul de Villiers was all over the field.

Props Gerhard Steenekamp and Carlu Sadie, another debutant, were immoveable, and Ruben van Heerden, also a first-timer, was solid.

And when the Boks had to defend, especially during a period of persistent pressure in the second half, where Wales kept winning penalties and pushing for the line, they proved impregnable.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has emphasised building his team’s depth for the World Cup, and this match underlined his talent at scrumhalf, where Cobus Reinach was impressive before being replaced by Hershel Jantjies, who set up his own try with a quick interchange with Jaco Williams, another debutant who scored a good try himself.

Fassi didn’t have the greatest game at fullback, but his replacement, Damian Williemse, showed his class the moment he came on.

Manie Libbok missed his first two conversion attempts, but his long pass set up Kurt-Lee Arendse’s try.

Series against All Blacks

Erasmus has tested plenty of players in the last three Tests against England, Scotland and Wales.

Next up is a one-off away Test against Argentina on August 8 and then a four-match series against New Zealand, where he may be less liberal with experimentation.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks produced a display of attacking brilliance to humble Ireland 40-21 yesterday and extend their unbeaten run at Eden Park to a record 53 tests, Reuters reported.

New Zealand scored six tries in front of a heaving crowd to finish the southern hemisphere leg of the competition with a perfect 3-0 record under new coach Dave Rennie.

The hosts raced out to a 28-7 lead by halftime at their rugby stronghold, with early tries to Patrick Tuipulotu, captain Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and replacement hooker Asafo Aumua.

Fullback Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown added another two five-pointers after the break as the All Blacks fired a warning shot at world champions South Africa before their upcoming tour there.

Australia’s biggest win for a decade proved a fitting farewell for coach Joe Schmidt, as the Wallabies beat Italy 57-10 in Perth yesterday. But the veteran coach departs the job with a losing record and Australia looking a long way off being a contender for the World Cup they host next year.

The victory was their largest since the 65-3 win over Uruguay at the 2015 World Cup but it was also their first in three attempts in the new competition and followed six successive defeats.