Wales face questions after 43-0 Durban defeat to South Africa

Wales closed their first Nations Championship campaign with a 43-0 defeat to South Africa in Durban, a ninth loss in 12 Tests during Steve Tandy's opening season as head coach.

The Springboks, ranked number one in the world and 11 places above Wales, controlled the contest at Kings Park. Wales avoided a repeat of the 73-0 defeat they suffered against the same opponents in Cardiff in November 2025, conceding 30 fewer points and four fewer tries, but they again failed to register a point against South Africa.

A season that faded after a bright start

The campaign had begun with encouragement: a 39-21 win over Fiji in Cardiff. That result now looks isolated, with a convincing loss in Argentina followed by the Durban defeat. Across the past two weeks Wales travelled almost 20,000 miles on six flights for two matches in the new competition.

The gap between the sides was visible before kick-off, when a second South African team bus arrived at the ground carrying non-matchday squad members including Cheslin Kolbe, Handre Pollard and Eben Etzebeth. Wales won a Test in Bloemfontein in 2022, but there was little prospect of a repeat once the match began.

Key points

• South Africa beat Wales 43-0 in Durban in the Nations Championship
• It was a ninth defeat in 12 Tests in Steve Tandy's first season in charge
• Wales opened the campaign with a 39-21 win over Fiji in Cardiff
• Wales have now gone two matches without scoring against South Africa, an aggregate of 116-0 across 160 minutes
• The squad covered almost 20,000 miles on six flights for their final two fixtures

Former Wales hooker Scott Baldwin told BBC Radio Wales he felt flatter after this result than after the 73-0 loss in Cardiff, arguing that Wales had close to a full squad available while South Africa fielded a less experienced line-up than at the Principality Stadium.

Tandy's side now head into the off-season with the direction of the programme under scrutiny, and with the manner of the defeats to Argentina and South Africa raising the central question of how much progress the past ten months have delivered.