There was a try apiece for either side with Wales’ Josh Adams replying to an effort from Springbok centre Damian de Allende. Both of those scores came in the second half.
In the end the difference between the two sides was a late penalty from Springbok fly-half Handre Pollard who was the official player of the match.
The result left Wales’ players heartbroken, but they still have one more match to play in Japan – a bronze medal match with New Zealand in Tokyo on Friday.
Here is how Warren Gatland’s squad reacted to the Springbok result…
Captain Alun Wyn Jones:
“We are hurting, obviously. We are disappointed, but we’ve still got an opportunity to make a bit of history. We have that as a stick and carrot, if you like.
“We fell short, but we’ll hopefully get another opportunity. It wasn’t our day, but I’m still proud to pull this jersey on and represent all the people in red in this stadium.”
Centre Jonathan Davies:
“Congratulations to South Africa, but as a squad we are hurting right now. It’s a tough one to take. A couple of errors on our part in the first half gave them some field position.
“A couple of decisions didn’t go our way. Maybe we just needed to be a little bit more accurate with the ball. It is one of those games on fine margins.
“Gats said he can’t fault the effort and the hard work we put in. Everyone is hurting right now, but we have to shift our focus to the game coming up. There is a chance to get a medal from this tournament and it warrants us to come together to make sure we give our all in this last week.”
Fly-half Dan Biggar:
“To lose a semi-final is tough enough anyway, but the way it panned out was tough to take. We have been on a really good run and we just couldn’t get over the line.
“Their nine (Faf de Klerk) was excellent in terms of marshalling them around the field. You know when you come up against South Africa the mauling game is big.
“At 70 minutes we were in a good position in the game and we got turned over and they kicked to the 22. In a moment the game changes and we were chasing it.
“We have loved the country and the tournament and we have got to pick ourselves up now in a very short period and go again against a disappointed All Blacks team. There is no bigger challenge.
“A huge carrot is to try and beat the All Blacks. It’s something we haven’t done. The winners’ medal was the first thing we wanted, but now we can’t get that we have got to aim for a big performance on Friday and hopefully create a bit of history.”
Flanker Justin Tipuric:
“It’s tough to take, especially losing the way we did and by three points. It was one of those weird games – it was so close that any bounce of the ball could have gone either way.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of the tournament personally. Getting to the semi-final and losing to a bounce of a ball like we did is tough, but fair play to South Africa. We knew it was going to be a tough battle up front and they came into the game with probably the best driving maul in the tournament. They spoilt a lot of our line-out and scrum ball.
“From a forwards point of view we knew we had to front up. All the boys wore the shirt with pride, it’s just a bit gutting we didn’t come out the other end.
“South Africa are big men. That’s their strength – they’re not going to change their game plan, why would you? They’ve got such a physical presence. They’ll play to their strengths.
“We knew it was going to be that type of game, a close game, and we were hoping to come out on the other side of it.”
Centre Hadleigh Parkes:
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I think the boys put in a pretty good effort out there. It was 16-all for a long time. To lose to a penalty with about four minutes to go is pretty hard to take.
“But I think the boys have got to be proud of what we’ve achieved and how close the game was. It could have gone either way at the end.
“It went their way and all the best to them in the final. It’s tough, but we’ve got one more game left and one more game as a group and a coaching staff. There are a few people moving on.
“You just want to go out there and put in a good performance. We know Friday is going to be a tough game. The All Blacks will obviously be hurting from their loss. Hopefully we can go out there, get stuck in, and put in a good performance our fans can be proud out.
“We also want a performance that we can be proud of as a team. We’ve put in a lot of hard work over the years going into this.”
