The Sports Guru
Wales have now gone two Tests without scoring a point against South Africa, and this piece looks at what that run actually tells us about Steve Tandy's tenure. You'll get the coach's own diagnosis of why his side couldn't finish chances, alongside his captain's contrasting case for progress, and a clearer sense of whether those two positions can both be true at once.
Two matches, two zeroes, 116 points conceded - Wales have found a new way to lose without even reaching the scoreboard. South Africa beat them 43-0 in Durban on 18 July 2026 to close out the Nations Championship, and it followed a 73-0 defeat in November when Wales shipped 11 tries in their heaviest home loss. Head coach Steve Tandy called the latest scoreline "bitterly disappointing," and the question now isn't whether Wales are struggling against the world champions - that much is obvious - but whether the effort he keeps praising is actually building towards anything.
The numbers behind the nil
South Africa scored seven tries in Durban through Jasper Wiese, Cobus Reinach, Jesse Kriel, Jaco Williams, Herschel Jantjies, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Paul de Villiers. It was, by the Springboks' own recent standards against Wales, restrained - eleven tries fewer than the November mauling. That framing only goes so far, though. Wales still failed to register a single point for the second Test running, and Tandy has now lost nine of his twelve matches in charge. A team can improve its process and still produce an identical outcome on the scoreboard, and that's precisely the tension Wales are sitting in.
Tandy's diagnosis
Tandy didn't dress up the result. "I am bitterly disappointed with the scoreline," he said, before crediting his players' application: "I commend the team around the effort, they stayed in the fight for large parts of the game." He pointed to pride in the group's work rate "up against the world champions," but his more revealing comments came when asked why Wales couldn't get on the board for a second successive game.
"It was pretty one-sided when it comes to us defending and getting the ball," he admitted. He identified specific moments Wales failed to convert: "Probably the one or two moments we did get an opportunity weren't accurate enough. Whether it be a knock-on or whether there was space we didn't take it and then we probably could have been a bit more ruthless when we had three or four penalties in a row, but we didn't take that." He also credited the opposition directly: "South Africa are physical at the breakdown, they're a well-oiled defensive unit as well." His conclusion was blunt rather than dressed up - "there's lots of things that we'll have to get better at and grow again."
Lake's case for progress
Captain Dewi Lake offered a different emphasis, built on the same result. "Some people might be shocked with me saying that with the scoreboard looking as it does, but there is a lot of improvement in that," he said, drawing a direct comparison to November: "You compare that performance to the performance in the autumn against the Springboks." Lake wasn't claiming satisfaction - "we're not happy with the nil on the scoreboard, we're not happy with losing, there's a lot for us to improve on, but we've had growth" - but he was making a case that the gap, while still enormous, has narrowed. He closed by backing the squad's commitment rather than the result: "I'm proud of every single one of those boys that pulled the jersey on and gave everything on that field."
What actually changed since November
Set against the 73-0 defeat, conceding 43 rather than 73 and seven tries rather than eleven is, arithmetically, an improvement. Whether it constitutes the kind of growth Tandy and Lake are both reaching for depends on what happens next time Wales face top-tier opposition. Tandy's own account - missed accuracy in the few opportunities Wales created, penalties in a row that went unconverted into scores - suggests the gap isn't just physical. It's also about game management in the moments that matter, and that's a harder thing to fix than tightening a defensive line.
FAQ
What was the final score?
South Africa beat Wales 43-0 in the Nations Championship in Durban.
How does this compare with their previous meeting?
South Africa won 73-0 in November, Wales's heaviest home defeat, having conceded 11 tries in that game.
Who scored South Africa's tries in Durban?
Jasper Wiese, Cobus Reinach, Jesse Kriel, Jaco Williams, Herschel Jantjies, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Paul de Villiers.
What is Steve Tandy's record as Wales head coach?
He has lost nine of his twelve Tests in charge.
What did Wales captain Dewi Lake say?
He said he was "massively proud" of the squad's effort and pointed to improvement compared with the November defeat, while acknowledging the team is "not happy with the nil on the scoreboard."
Research: This article is based on reporting by BBC Sport Wales.
