Wales face South Africa in the first Test of their summer tour today.
Flanker Tommy Reffell, who helped Leicester Tigers win this season’s Gallagher Premiership title, will make his debut in the back-row alongside Dan Lydiate and Taulupe Faletau. Lydiate and centre George North return to international rugby after more than a year away from the Test match arena because of serious knee injuries.
Head coach Wayne Pivac has opted for Will Rowlands and Adam Beard as the second-row partnership, meaning 150 times-capped Alun Wyn Jones is on the bench. Jones is joined among the replacements by fellow British and Irish Lions player Josh Navidi, with Tomos Williams providing scrum-half cover for Kieran Hardy.
Hardy is elevated to the starting XV as captain Dan Biggar’s half-back partner, with North joined in midfield by Saracens’ Nick Tompkins. For the hosts, Elton Jantjies lines up at 10 and Damian Willemse at 15 in the place of Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux respectively. Follow all the action below with our live blog:
PENALTY! SOUTH AFRICA 3-8 Wales (Elton Jantjies penalty, 17 minutes)
A swift run-up, a sweet strike – South Africa up and running.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:32
South Africa 0-8 Wales, 15 minutes
Right, fluids on board and on we go. South Africa make progress after a lineout with Damian De Allende doing some trademark hard-trucking up the centre. Penalty advantage is not used to the Springboks’ benefit – Elton Jantjies will try again from the tee.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:30
South Africa 0-8 Wales
The players take a water break, which offers us a chance to have a look at Louis Rees-Zammit’s early score:
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:29
Missed penalty! South Africa 0-8 Wales, 14 minutes
Off both posts! Not something you see too often as Jantjies’ kick first strikes the left-hand post, then the right, and back out into play into welcoming Welsh mitts.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:28
South Africa 0-8 Wales, 12 minutes
Round one at the scrum is won by South Africa – initially parity giving way to a slight Springboks nudge, and as it goes to floor it is Ox Nche rewarded for his work against Dillon Lewis.
Elton Jantjies will look to get South Africa’s scoring underway.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:26
South Africa 0-8 Wales, 11 minutes
This time Hardy does get the right amplitude, with Etzebeth again attempting a charge down.
Frans Malherbe topples awkwardly over the top of Taulupe Faletau and Dan Lydiate, who stoop incredibly low to try and stall the big tighthead. He lands on his head, but it is tough to see any fault on the part of the two Welsh back-rowers – a position also taken by the match officials after a brief check.
It will be a South African scrum on the left inside the Welsh half after Liam Williams had fumbled following an Elton Jantjies high bomb.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:25
South Africa 0-8 Wales, 10 minutes
It has been a very good start from Kieran Hardy, but that isn’t his best minute, manhandled by a little and large tag team of Cheslin Kolbe and Jasper Wiese, and then failing to clear Eben Etzebeth’s reach with his box kick. Hardy is lucky that the charge down skews into touch.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:23
DROP GOAL! South Africa 0-8 WALES (Dan Biggar drop goal, 9 minutes)
Is that over? It is! A moment of inspiration from Dan Biggar, forced to check on a pass from Kieran Hardy as Wales play aimlessly just inside the South African half. With options limited, he unfurls a long drop-goal, a little nine iron that collects a favourable breeze and drifts through the thin Loftus air, pitching down just beyond the crossbar.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:21
South Africa 0-5 Wales, 8 minutes
Wales thus kick deeper into South African territory but the lineout fails to function, and Wiese is soon doing what he does best, swatting away would-be tacklers as he bristles about.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:19
South Africa 0-5 Wales, 7 minutes
Dan Biggar drives a low crossfield kick across to Josh Adams, who collects but can’t force his own kick beyond Cheslin Kolbe and co.
Soon ater, though, Jasper Wiese is picked out for a no-arms tackle – he has cleaned up his discipline significantly and this is not dirty, just a technical error as he tries to chop at the knees of the Welsh carrier.
Harry Latham-Coyle2 July 2022 16:18