The Springboks 'slow poison' that eventually saw Wales' resolve crumble

Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber credited how his team ultimately undermined Wales with 'slow poison' that saw their hosts' resolve eventually crumble late in the second half after a titanic struggle.

Nienaber belives his players stamina outlasted their hosts as they ended an eight year winning drought with a 23-18 victoryin Cardiff on Saturday yesterday.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, and there was some over-eagerness as we lacked accuracy at times in terms of using our opportunities,” said Nienaber. “But this was a valuable win for us because we knew these are the same conditions we can expect in the 2023 World Cup.”

“I thought the maul try we scored late in the game was the moment that the game really changed. It was big for us, and we probably won the game right there, so I have to take my hat off to the forwards for making it happen.”

“It’s also important to never forget the ‘slow poison’ the starting players put into their opposition's legs earlier in the game.

“We may not have gotten the reward from our drives in the first half, but I think the pack laid a great foundation, which opened up the opportunity for the guys that came on. They still had to use that and kick on, and I thought they did that very well today.”

Nienaber said that none of the his teams injuries appeared particularly serious. “I spoke to our team doctor after the match and it seems that there aren’t any worries around Trevor Nyakane (prop) injury wise, but we will probably know more in the next 48 hours later.”

Captain Siya Kolisi praised the Springboks bench, who made an impact when they came on. “The players who came off the bench were huge today, and we know that our replacements are always one of our weapons – they were very special today.

“Frans (Steyn) made an impact after he came on early for Damian Willemse, and the same can be said for all the forwards, as well as Cobus (Reinach) and Elton (Jantjies) when they came on.”

South Africa will travel to Edinburgh today and will begin their on-field preparations for their second Test against Scotland on Monday.