Rugby story by Brian Watters, Mon, 21 Nov 2005 17:04:01 GMT


Wales coach Mike Ruddock had to admit that South Africa was a superior side than his after Wales lost 16-33 in Cardiff on Saturday.

“You have to say well done to South Africa. They are a quality side. Whenever we made an error they punished us. Our error count has been quite high this autumn, but I saw a huge amount of effort from my players,” said Ruddock.

But, Mike Ruddock will not give up his attacking strategy when Wales clashes with Australia next week. His team did put up a spirited performance against the Springboks. Wales proved that they have the forward power after losing to South Africa.

Though, South Africans are the most physical side in rugby world, their scrum was put under pressure. Coach Jake White after 36 minutes replaced Lawrence Sephaka with veteran Os du Randt. Captain Gareth Thomas threatened South Africans, after being moved from full-back to centre.

The speed of the Springbok wing Bryan Habana was amazing. His two early tries and key role in a third notwithstanding, the game was not sealed till Conrad Jantjes's 58th-minute try opened a 12-point gap.

South Africa scored four tries as against the home side which managed only one when Ceri Sweeney crossed late on.

Wales's captain Gareth Thomas said: “Our commitment was brilliant and we dug in for 80 minutes. We have had a lot of injuries and we are trying to bring new players in and there have been a lot of positives despite the fact we have been losing matches.”

Wales' bad luck run continued as injuries continue to plague the side. Lock Luke Charteris, who failed a late fitness test on a calf injury, and had to be replaced by Ian Gough.

Ruddock said: “We are putting in plenty of effort but we are making too many errors that were not there last year and to beat these teams you have to play a perfect game. We still want the players to have a licence to thrill and we try to take a creative approach but we need to be more cohesive.”

Wales now have the wherewithal to gather a momentum, but they must stop giving the ball away too much.

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