Nick Mallett
What former Springbok coach NICK MALLETT had to say on SuperSport about the Springboks' defeat in Cardiff.
On the mistake-ridden Test
'This was a very, very poor game of rugby. I don't think Wales were good, I don't think South Africa were good. There were so many mistakes by both teams. I have a list here ... Pat Lambie's knock-on when he looked up and he had a perfect opportunity to catch the ball and kick it into the corner ... Willie le Roux's two knock-ons at the end of the game were absolutely crucial ... Handré Pollard has a chance to kick [a penalty] into the corner and not only does he miss the kick but the Welsh guy [Scott Williams] is so stupid that he tries to keep the ball in play [inside the deadball area] instead of allowing it to go dead ... Francois Hougaard takes a quick penalty tap and bangs it straight out [on the full]. I mean these are stupid schoolboy errors. There were no tries and it was a terribly depressing game. Give Wales credit – they beat a very poor, tired Springbok side – but I don't think they are going to be a threat at the World Cup either.'
On the Springboks' selections
'I wouldn't have changed the team for this game. The time [to start fringe players] was last week against Italy, who are ranked 14th in the world. We could have given a fresh look to that Bok team and rested some of the key guys we needed to win this game against Wales, who are a tougher challenge than Italy. [Players like] Julian Redelinghuys, Trevor Nyakane and Damian de Allende could have started against Italy, Pollard could have been given another go, with Cobus Reinach [as his halfback partner]. The All Blacks made [13] changes for their match against Scotland, which gave them the energy to come back against Wales.'
The scrums
'The scrums were chaotic. When they collapsed [on Bok ball] the ref wasn't sure whose mistake it was. Eventually he penalised Coenie Oosthuizen. We get Coenie off, Redelinghuys holds a good scrum, we get two tightheads, and then we get penalised and shoved off the ball in the last scrum [5m out from Wales' tryline]. One moment we're looking as if we're getting a hold on one bit of the set piece, and the next moment we are insecure.'
On Cornal Hendricks' yellow card
'I'm not absolutely certain that was a good decision [by the referee]. Both players [Hendricks and Leigh Halfpenny] were going up for the ball, but the attacking player going for the ball has to think about the receiving player, and apparently his safety is more important.'
Jean de Villiers's knee injury
'It was tragic ... it's a very sad day. That was a terrible knee injury and it looks as if he might be out for six months.'
Wales blindside flank Sam Warburton
'Warburton was outstanding. His attacking of the breakdown was excellent. He turned over a number of our balls at vital times.'
Heyneke meyer
Cardiff - South Africa's 12-6 defeat by Wales was "disappointing", according to coach Heyneke Meyer, who vowed that his team would improve greatly before the Rugby World Cup.
Meyer, whilst insisting that no defeat was positive, said he took pride in having blooded a host of younger players in the pressure cooker of Test rugby.
"It's obviously very disappointing, I always said that our depth was going to be tested," Meyer said after a real arm wrestle of a match at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
"We knew it was going to be tough, but we just made too many mistakes."
Meyer said the loss of skipper Jean de Villiers, who suffered a dislocated knee cap after 57 minutes and had to go for scans to check for associated damage, and the 62nd-minute yellow carding of Cornal Hendricks for taking out Leigh Halfpenny in the air all proved crucial in the finale.
"Usually in the last 20 minutes the game opens up and we play some of our best rugby and if you look at previous games they have lost in the last 10 minutes," he said.
"When Jean got injured, it was a big setback. Not just losing the captain, but it took seven or eight minutes to get him off the field and we lost all the continuity there.
"Then the game slightly opened up we were getting big ball for the first time, but the yellow card for Cornal was probably the end of it because suddenly we wanted to attack, six points behind, but we had to go into defensive mode, especially on scrums, especially away from home.
"A lot of youngsters came on, and especially in the backs we lacked a bit of experience but we've said we want to learn from this, we have to look hard and see where we can go from here."
De Villiers said in the pre-match build-up that the Springboks were treating the Wales match like a World Cup final, but Meyer was keen to distance himself from any parallels.
"Every single loss you take really bad as a coach, you have to look in the mirror," he said.
"There were no tries in the game, 12-6, I thought a lot of youngsters put up their hands and some others guys need some experience.
"So you have to have these games, obviously you don't want to lose.
"It's never great to lose... but I don't think it has any bearing on the World Cup. What it does give you are some answers about how players respond under pressure, which will happen in the World Cup.
"We have a lot of great players coming back, 25 players. I'm very positive this doesn't have any bearing on the World Cup. We will have an unbelievably strong squad, unbelievably well prepared.
"I know we're much better than this, we'll definitely be better at the World Cup and I still believe we're on the right track and we can win it."
Giant lock Victor Matfield, who took over the captaincy when De Villiers was taken off, added: "Just too many errors on the night.
"I think tonight's result and a few of the other results show that there are quite a few teams that can win the World Cup.
"I think it's going to be a very exciting World Cup where there's not just two or three or four teams that can win it, but six."
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