Opinion: Nothing learnt, nothing gained as Wales humiliated in grim day for Welsh Rugby

It was an almost guaranteed win for South Africa. It was a pointless Test for Wales.

Nothing learnt, nothing gained.

he added.

An unnecessary humiliation to end an autumn campaign which has been filled with encouraging signs. But that now seems a distant memory.

Saturday afternoon in Cardiff was one of the most one-sided Test matches in recent times; it felt like watching a seasoned professional boxer fight a novice. It was that brutal.

You expect this sort of meeting to resemble the meeting between Anthony Joshua and YouTuber Jake Paul next month.

To call it a contest would be diminishing the utter dominance of the back-to-back World Champions. If it were a junior game of rugby at your local park, it would’ve been called off way before the full-time whistle.

That perhaps would’ve been the best outcome for Wales, who never looked likely to score.

But was that a message to the hierarchy of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), a rude awakening to a match that was only taking place as a revenue-generating event?

The humiliation took place in front of 50,112 people, the lowest attendance of the four matches this autumn. Didn’t really seem worth it taking place in the end. Mission failed by the WRU on that account.

If this were eight years ago, this match would’ve been a sellout weeks in advance. But this just paints the grim picture of the international scene in Wales at the moment.

Cardiff and the Principality Stadium were a sea of green and gold; thousands of loud, passionate Springbok fans made their voices heard.

They cheered on 11 unanswered tries, as Rassie Erasmus’ side finished 2025 with their most comfortable win.

However, this is where the fixture needs context: that wasn’t the Wales squad seen all autumn; it was a depleted match-day 23, rushed together.

Rushed is the best way to describe Steve Tandy’s side’s preparations for the match. Winger Ellis Mee, who played decently, was only introduced to the Vale Resort on Monday of Test week in place of the absent Louis Rees-Zammit.

It must’ve been a horrid bus journey from the Vale of Glamorgan training base to the stadium, knowing deep down what was awaiting. They should never have been in this position.

This defeat will mentally stay with many for a long while, especially after it was the first time since 1967 that Wales had failed to score in a home Test in Cardiff. That’s bruising in itself.

It’s the second time this year that has happened. Remember, the rainy Friday night in Paris in January, France claimed the spoils 43-0. That was painful, but this one was different.

Wales were missing 13 of their English- and French-based club players; no wonder it was heavily criticised. But Tandy, in the post-match press conference, defended the fixture and admitted it wasn’t a game too far for Wales.

“I don’t think it’s one game too far. It’s easy when you don’t get what you want,” said Tandy.

“But we need Test matches. The bit we’ve got to do is really focus on the bits we’ve done really well over the campaign.”

However, the 45-year-old admitted that it wasn’t the perfect circumstances about having to bring people in for this out-of-window fixture.

“I love coaching this team. I believe in this team's future. We need more games to get to where we want,” he added.

Wales A? More games in the calendar year? Behind closed doors, fixtures? Six Nations warm-up games like Wales U20s are having in December? In all honesty, this was a game too far for Wales this year.

If last week’s showing against the All Blacks were their final match of the year, confidence would’ve been high heading into the start of the Six Nations against England and France. But now that’s been dented.

So, how quickly can Wales put that 73-0 defeat behind them? Probably, not too quickly,” said Wales' second row Ben Carter.

Wales attempted to play with the cards that they were dealt on Saturday, the players now dejected as they head back to their clubs for two rounds of European fixtures to start December.

They shouldn’t be blamed; it was one of the most pointless Tests ever.

But turbulent times lie ahead for Welsh rugby, despite a positive round in the United Rugby Championship for the four regional sides.

Perhaps the WRU director of rugby, Dave Reddin, who was seen smiling and laughing, should’ve watched them instead of disgracefully laughing in the stands, as he watched the men’s national side hit rock bottom yet again.