Writing for Sport24, Rob Howing passes judgement on South Africa's battling victory over Wales in Cardiff.
"An imperfect performance, and then some. But South Africa are halfway to the Grand Slam ... that’s what matters most.
Wales threw the kitchen sink -- plus the fridge, oven and bin! – at the Springboks in a frenzied assault just ahead of and then significantly after the hooter, but the tourists’ defences somehow held for a heart-stopping 29-25 win at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
The Boks were outscored 3-2 in tries and owed a little bit, too, to the relative kindness of southern hemisphere referee Steve Walsh for ending on the right side of this ding-dong tussle – some of his decisions significantly irked the crowd.
...And I think this slightly fortuitous victory actually strengthened, rather than weakened, their psychological hold over these opponents, bearing in mind that they will meet again in pool play at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
Somehow Wales just don’t seem to be able to close the deal against the Boks in tight home battles of late, and the prospect of meeting next on neutral turf south of the equator, rather than before their passionate Cardiff faithful, cannot be especially appealing right now."
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