Gatland laments Welsh 'disease'

Wales 31 South Africa 34

(GETTY IMAGES)

So where do Wales go from here? To Carisbrook on 19 June for the first of two Tests against the men in black – The House of Pain, as the old Dunedin ground is known. It was a discomforting thought in the already deflated aftermath of Saturday's spurned opportunity to claim the scalp of a weakened Springbok side.

Wales have never won in New Zealand and unless Graham Henry decides to go farther than the South Africans and rest a complete team of big-hitters, Warren Gatland's men could be in for a couple of painful experiences.

True, Wales had a cracking start. They were 16-3 up when James Hook plundered the opening try after 21 minutes. They also produced a cracking finish, late tries from Tom Prydie and Alun-Wyn Jones pulling them back to within three points, from a deficit of 31-19.

Crucially, though, in the second and third quarters, Wales allowed the game to run away from them. Their lineout disintegrated; and South Africa – minus a host of big names – did not so much stamp their authority as prey on Welsh mistakes. Wing Odwa Ndungane squeezed a score in the left corner before half-time. Next, Dewald Potgieter claimed his first score for his country. And, just before the hour mark, debutant Juan De Jongh bagged a third Springbok try.

"We were outstanding for the first 25 minutes and then we just handed them the game on a plate," Gatland, Wales' head coach, lamented. "We were clinical and accurate, and then we caught some sort of disease." Which is not the best state of health for a trip to The House of Pain.

Wales: Tries Hook, Prydie AW Jones; Conversions S Jones 2, Penalties S Jones 3; Drop goal Hook. South Africa: Tries Ndungane, Potgieter, De Jongh; Conversions Pienaar 2; Penalties Pienaar 4, Steyn 1.

Wales: L Byrne); L Halfpenny, J Hook, J Roberts, T Prydie; S Jones, M Phillips; P James, M Rees, A R Jones, B Davies, D Jones, J Thomas, S Warburton, R Jones (captain). Replacements: AW Jones for D Jones, 58; J Yapp for AR Jones, 58; R McCusker for Warburton, 78.

South Africa: F Steyn; G Aplon, J Fourie, J De Jongh, O Ndungane, R Pienaar, R Januarie; CJ van der Linde, J Smit (captain), BJ Botha, D Rossouw, V Matfield, F Louw, D Potgieter, J van Niekerk. Replacements: B Basson for Ndungane, 33; R Kankowski for Potgieter, 56; J du Plessis or Botha, 58; C Ralepelle for van der Linde, 74; Z Kirchner for Steyn, 75; A Hargreaves for Rossouw, 75.

Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).