The Springboks closed out their 2025 season like a runaway scrum machine, thundering through Cardiff and flattening Wales 73-0 in a one-way rugby avalanche at the Principality Stadium.
Leading 28-0 at halftime, the Boks tore the second half open like a loosehead ripping a maul apart, scoring 11 tries as their pack once again laid down the law up front. Wales simply couldn’t stem the green-and-gold tide.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was the conductor of the carnage, grabbing two tries and slotting nine conversions for a personal haul of 28 points, sprinting through the Welsh defence “like a jet with green smoke trailing behind it”.
Match report: Eleven tries without reply as the #Springboks finish the season with a massive victory over Wales – more here: https://t.co/Vfn3W5Chuy 💪#ForeverGreenForeverGold #WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/uI7yKpBwih
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 29, 2025
But the only blemish on a near-perfect day was Eben Etzebeth’s late red card for making contact with the eyes of a Welsh player as tempers boiled over in the closing exchanges.
Scrum supremacy sets the tone
From the opening whistle, the Bok scrum operated like a hydraulic press. Three of their first-half tries came directly from this weaponised platform, with Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese, and Morne van den Berg all dotting down behind a dominant shove.
Prop Gerhard Steenekamp opened the floodgates with a barging finish after a multi-phase assault inside the Welsh 22. This was his second Test try on his first start for South Africa.
"We've been through this too"
Siya Kolisi praises Wales and emphasizes that to improve, you have to play against the best.
📺 Watch every #QuilterNS match live on @tntsports & @discoveryplusuk pic.twitter.com/5b3trXCWam
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 29, 2025
Second-half fireworks
After the break, the Boks shifted gears and tore Wales apart with variety and venom. Wilco Louw rumbled over from close range before Feinberg-Mngomezulu ignited the crowd with a moment of quick-thinking brilliance — a rapid tap-and-go that split the defence and left him diving under the posts.
Soon after, Canan Moodie turned a loose ball into a footrace he was never losing, hacking ahead and gliding across the chalk for 49-0.
Then came the Bomb Squad. Rassie Erasmus unleashed his full bench in one go, and the impact was immediate. Andre Esterhuizen finished a sweeping move in the corner, before Feinberg-Mngomezulu bagged his second and Ruan Nortje powered in for his first Test try.
Etzebeth added the eleventh try before his red card, rounding off South Africa’s largest winning margin of the year – a 73-0 demolition that echoed around Cardiff like a thunderclap.
Wales 0
Springboks 73 (28)
Tries: Steenekamp, Hooker, Wiese, Van den Berg, Louw, Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Moodie, Esterhuizen, Nortje, Etzebeth
Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (9)
