Springboks finish season in style with record win over Wales in Cardiff

This was always going to be a tough ask for a depleted Wales missing far too many first-choice players to trouble the Boks, who - despite a few absentees of their own - were much better equipped to absorb the losses.

South Africa dominated the collisions, carried with power, and never allowed the hosts a foothold in the game, piling on 11 tries in all to inflict Wales' heaviest home defeat.

The win capped another remarkable season for the Springboks, who finished with 13 wins from 15 after successfully defending their Rugby Championship title and claiming memorable victories over France and Ireland on foreign soil.

The two-time world champions appear to have found another level in 2025 - more physically dominant than ever, but with an even sharper attacking edge and a far greater sense of consistency - spelling real danger for their rivals going forward.

How the Boks Dominated

The match got off to a flying start with an impressive high-ball take from Ethan Hooker, followed by Canan Moodie bursting down the outside, only to make a hash of his kick-and-chase attempt.

The Boks' opening try came via a series of dominant carries, manfully defended by Wales at first, before the gap eventually opened up for Gerhard Steenekamp to stretch over and score.

Their second try followed shortly after the first and was a thing of beauty. From behind a dominant scrum and first-phase ball, the Boks shifted the ball through the hands, opening up the outside for Hooker to glide over with a stylish finish in the corner.

The visitors were nearly in again after Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu burst through a gap and offloaded to a charging Siya Kolisi, but a little handling error saw the home side escape.

The Welsh scrum was starting to buckle with a familiar sense of inevitability, and the Boks' third try did eventually come from a set piece up close that drove Wales back over their own line, allowing Jasper Wiese to fall onto the ball and score.

The Boks scored their fourth on the stroke of half-time, with Moodie bursting through a gap and a series of powerful carries taking them to the line, where Morne van den Berg applied the finishing touch.

With the match already all but over as a contest, the second half was always going to be about damage control for Wales, but unfortunately for the proud rugby nation, there was to be no reprieve this time around. Wilco Louw crashed over early and Taine Plumtree got sent to the sin-bin, and it didn't get any better for the hosts from there.

Further tries soon followed for Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Moodie, and with 30 minutes to play, Rassie Erasmus emptied his entire bench to continue turning the screws.

Andre Esterhuizen was rewarded for a barnstorming night when he crashed over for the Boks' eighth try, and then helped snuff out Wales' best period of attack inside South Africa's 22 with a superb steal to underline his versatility.

Mercifully for an outgunned Wales and their faithful supporters, the final 20 minutes only resulted in three more Bok tries, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth adding to the tally to cap a memorable season for the men in green and gold.

The match ended on an unfortunate note when a scuffle between the teams saw Etzebeth red-carded for what appeared to be a thumb to the eye, but it did little to affect the outcome as the Boks held off a final Welsh attack to underline their dominance on the night.