'Ridiculous': Concerns grow ahead of Wales-Springboks game

Wales’ date with the Springboks next weekend is starting to look like a mismatch of grim, almost comic proportions, with fears mounting that the world champions could rack up a cricket score in Cardiff.

Steve Tandy’s side, who have only beaten Japan this year, will now be without 13 front-line players who ply their trade outside Wales and therefore fall foul of the release rules for this out-of-window Test.

It’s a roll call of talent that nearly reads like a full XV in its own right: Adam Beard (Montpellier), Rhys Carre and Nick Tompkins (Saracens), Olly Cracknell and Nicky Smith (Leicester Tigers), Archie Griffin and Louis Hennessey (Bath), Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), Freddie Thomas, Max Llewelyn and Tomos Williams (Gloucester), Jarrod Evans (Harlequins) and Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears).

Strip that calibre of talent out of a squad that already shipped over 50 points to New Zealand on Saturday and you have the recipe for a long, ugly evening.

When the sides met in the equivalent fixture in 2024, Wales’ first-choice side were pummeled 45-12. The elephant in the room is what scoreline the Boks might put on a Welsh second-string selection.

Even with their full-strength group, a gutsy Wales were ultimately no match for the All Blacks, losing 52-26 despite Tom Rogers becoming the first Welsh player ever to bag a hat-trick against New Zealand.

Rogers’ milestone was a rare bright splash on an otherwise bleak canvas. The All Blacks crossed seven times through Caleb Clarke and Sevu Reece (two each), Ruben Love, Tamaiti Williams and Rieko Ioane, while Damian McKenzie piled on 17 points from the tee.

The scale of the absentees has drawn concern online. Former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton called the situation “ridiculous”, while rugby journalist Andrew Baldock didn’t bother to sugar-coat it either: “WRU chasing the cash for a horror game, potentially, against South Africa, with double figure absentees from a squad that was already trying to find its feet with a new coaching team. Fixture scheduling is a national disgrace.”

The timing could hardly be worse. Rassie Erasmus’s South Africa arrive as the most dominant side in the sport, fresh from beating Ireland in Dublin on Saturday night.

And while they too will lose bodies to the Gallagher PREM, Japanese clubs and select URC sides for this out-of-window clash, their depth means the drop-off is more a gentle step than a cliff edge.

“It’s been a long season for us, and a lot of the players have to go back to Japan and others will play in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship next week. But we are certainly proud after such a long season to grind through a win against a team such as them at home for the first time in 13 years.”

It was an issue that was flagged at the start of the month by former Wales player Richie Rees. Speaking on BBC’s Scrum V, former Cardiff coach Rees said the game could do more harm than good.

“I just think you have to weigh up the pros and cons,” said Rees. “For me, that South Africa game isn’t worth playing. We’re missing that many players against the best team in the world.”