Wales v South Africa 28.11.25

Even this Englishman felt a genuine sense of trepidation heading into this one. The sense that this was going to be a mismatch was impossible to ignore and the only real uncertainty was how brutal it might become for the home side.

Like many of my generation who were children of the 1970s, my love of rugby exists largely because of Wales. Those great Welsh sides didn’t just dominate the sport, they defined it. Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Phil Bennett, JJ Williams, Gerald Davies were all household names and as well known as the permed and tached footballers of the same era. For kids growing up in England, Wales made rugby feel exciting and worth caring about.

The Cymru crisis

It’s genuinely hard to explain how Welsh rugby has fallen so far so quickly. Of course there have been key retirements but this goes much deeper than the loss of a golden generation. What we’re seeing now feels structural and profoundly damaging, and not good for the wider health of the game.

From this lowest of lows, one can only hope the long road back to competitiveness starts sooner rather than later. On The Good, the Bad and the Rugby podcast recently, the new Director of Rugby and Elite Performance, Dave Reddin, talked convincingly about rebuilding pathways and restoring standards. The words were sensible, even encouraging but this is going to require major surgery, not a sticking plaster. The Cymru crisis is real and it’s not going away quickly.

Travelling to Cardiff

For the match itself, I travelled from London to Cardiff by train. Early confusion caused by non-functioning digital carriage-number displays meant no one could find their seats but beyond that it was a comfortable and uneventful journey to the Principality.

Cardiff greeted me with sunshine and that lovely low November light, ideal for soaking up the pre-match atmosphere and grabbing a few photos of the fans. As ever, I was struck by the sheer number of South African supporters in town and by their boundless exuberance. That level of travelling support genuinely elevates a fixture, giving it the feel of a raucous Six Nations clash, rather than an autumn international.

The Christmas markets were in full swing, the city buzzing with people eating, drinking and generally enjoying themselves. I even spotted a few Cardiff City fans milling around ahead of their game against Mansfield Town, which they later won 3-0 to reclaim top spot in League One. At least one home side delivered.

The Mismatch

Wales had narrowly beaten Japan a fortnight earlier to end their losing streak but any hopes that this might mark a turning point were extinguished almost immediately. This wasn’t a contest, it was a massacre. Had this been boxing, to borrow a well worn cliche, the referee would have been stopped it early.

The result was a match that was deeply unsatisfactory and largely unmemorable, apart from one ugly moment in the 79th minute. With South Africa winning 73-0, Eben Etzebeth decided to indulge in a bit of eye-gouging on Alex Mann. He later claimed it was unintentional but from where I was sitting, the crazed look on his face suggested otherwise.

He did later apologise but his mitigation bordered on the absurd. Just own it mate. There are few things worse you can do on a rugby pitch and trying to explain it away only made it look sillier.

The Afterparty

After the final whistle, I had a couple of hours to kill before my train home, so I wandered into a few pubs around the city. I met plenty of friendly fans from both countries, all keen to talk rugby, life and anything except the scoreboard.

Cardiff is lively at the best of times and with Christmas approaching it felt like the entire city was out to party. The pubs were rammed and by the time I left things were getting messy.

A scene of chaos, confusion and false optimism much like Welsh rugby right now.