CARDIFF, United Kingdom: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starred as South Africa ran in 11 unanswered tries to inflict a record 73-0 home defeat on Wales in the autumn-season-ending international Test in Cardiff on Saturday.
The loss surpassed Wales’s 68-14 defeat to England in the Six Nations in March. It was also the first time they had been kept pointless at home in the professional era.
The Springboks are back-to-back world champions and touched down in the Welsh capital in high spirits on the back of wins over Japan (61-7), France (32-17), Italy (32-14) and Ireland (24-13).
The comprehensive victory in Cardiff marked the second successive season that they have completed an Autumn Series clean sweep.
It was also a 12th victory in 14 Tests this year, including a 67-30 thrashing of Argentina and a record 43-10 win over New Zealand in Wellington.
Wales, thoroughly outgunned in the scrum and clueless in attack, never got on the front foot and were left fighting a losing battle from the off.
It was their biggest defeat by the Boks since a second-string side went down 96-13 in Pretoria in 1998.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored two tries and nine conversions for a personal tally of 28 points that took him to 123 points in 10 matches for the green and gold in 2025.
Centre Andre Esterhuizen was another star man, his barn-storming midfield drives proving to be a constant thorn in the Welsh defence and offering South Africa relentless momentum.
The Welsh scrum was under the cosh from the vaunted Bok pack and the opening three tries, from Gerhard Steenkamp, Ethan Hooker and Jasper Wiese, all came off the back of dominant attacking set-pieces.
One rare Welsh foray into the Bok 22-metre area saw an overthrown line-out and subsequent penalty for South Africa in front of 50,112 in the Principality Stadium.
An Esterhuizen crashball set up a ruck from which scrum-half Morne van den Berg darted over for South Africa’s fourth try, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu impeccable from the kicking tee to leave them 28-0 up at half-time.
‘Welsh lamb on the braii’
Wales had a terrible start to the second period, with No.8 Aaron Wainwright going off to the blood bin before another Esterhuizen drive set up a ruck from which Wilco Louw barged over.
Welsh woes were compounded by Taine Plumtree getting a yellow card.
“I smell Welsh lamb on the braii!” one South African fan had written on her cardboard placard. And so it proved as the floodgates opened.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who as a teenager spent a year at Llandovery College, Carmarthenshire, on a rugby exchange from his Cape Town school, took a quick tap penalty to surge in under the posts for South Africa’s sixth try.
Canan Moodie then latched on to a loose Dan Edwards pass to hack ahead and touch down in one-way traffic before Esterhuizen finished off a sweeping move down the left wing for a deserved try.
South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus, known for his innovative approach to the game, brought on all eight replacements, including 140-cap lock Eben Etzebeth, in the 52nd minute.
While the game lost some of its rhythm, South Africa gradually settled and Feinberg-Mngomezulu skipped in for his second try before Ruan Nortje and Etzebeth also went over to leave Wales coach Steve Tandy with a mountain to climb ahead of their Six Nations opener away to England.
Etzebeth blotted his copybook after French referee Luc Ramos was left with no option but to red card the Bok enforcer with just minutes to play for an eye gouge on Alex Mann.
