In the heat of the ABSA Stadium, Durban, a talented Wales team, led by Clive Rowlands with players such as Ken Jones, Norman Gale and John Dawes, that had performed well against the home nations in 1964 and would win the Triple Crown in 1965, were outpaced and outgunned as they struggled to adapt to the climate conditions.
The visitors kept their opponents at bay for a large part of the game but it was mainly South African mistakes rather than a solid Wales defence that kept them from going behind early on in proceedings.
Keith Oxlee kicked off the second match of Wales’s tour and after a brief exchange Jannie Engelbrecht kicked forward and John Gainsford went over in the corner. The try was disallowed after a forward pass was seen earlier in the move but it set up the pattern of play for the match and Wales struggled to live with their hosts, but nonetheless, did hold them for the first hour.
After an exchange of penalties between Oxlee and Wales’s Keith Bradshaw had seen a modest 3-3 scoreline provide the backstory to the game, South Africa turned the screw and moving up through the gears began to bombard Wales with an onslaught of points.
Hannes Marais broke the deadlock with the first try of the match and by the time Nelie Smith crossed the line between the posts in the closing seconds, South Africa had racked up 21 unanswered points.
Wales returned to an inquest and a reorganisation of Welsh coaching began. In 1964, Ray Williams emerged as the first coaching organiser which laid the foundations for the emergence of the 1970s golden era.
