Springboks run riot in Cardiff but Eben Etzebeth's red card mars masterclass

The Springboks confirmed their status as the best team on the planet when they crushed Wales 73-0 in Cardiff on Saturday to become the most successful Springbok side in a calendar year.

The overwhelming win was marred, however, when, at the death of the game, Bok veteran Eben Etzebeth was red-carded for allegedly pushing his finger into the eye of a Welsh player.

The question will be… why?

Coach Rassie Erasmus’ team has now won 12 of their 14 matches for an unprecedented 86 percent win record.

Going into the match, the portents were not good for Wales, given that South Africa had won 19 of their previous 20 Tests in the Northern Hemisphere — including 13 straight victories since the 2023 World Cup.

The Boks are also the only Tier One nation to average more than five tries per game in 2025 (5.4), while conceding the fewest (2.2).

Wales, though, despite their horrible losing sequence, had scored more than three tries in five consecutive Tests, but they never came close to scoring against the South Africans.

The first scrum saw Wilco Louw blast through his opposite prop. That was ominous for the Welsh, and it counted on the scoreboard when, a few phases later, Louw’s fellow prop, Gerhard Steenekamp, smashed over.

Five minutes later, in the 13th minute, it was déjà vu — the Welsh scrum was destroyed again, and the ball went wide to Ethan Hooker, who finished strongly.

Right on the half-hour mark, the hat-trick for the Springbok scrum was secured when they pushed over from ten metres out, with No 8 Jasper Wiese dotting down for the easiest try of his career.

On the stroke of half-time, the Bok scrum struck again, with the ball firing to Andre Esterhuizen, who bulldozed to within inches of the line, before scrumhalf Morne van den Berg picked up and darted over.

At 28-0 at half-time, and given the strength of the Springbok bench, the floodgates were certain to open.

It was 35-0 two minutes into the second half when Louw barrelled over, and with Wales flank Taine Plumtree yellow-carded in the process, a cricket score was on the cards.

That became a certainty when Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu broke through the heart of the Welsh defence to score under the crossbar.

Canan Moodie added salt to Welsh wounds when — from Wales’ first meaningful attack, which broke down — he kicked the ball 50m downfield, gathered, and scored.

At that point, in the 50th minute, Rassie Erasmus thrust the Bomb Squad into the fray, and a collective sigh resounded around the Principality Stadium.

The Boks crossed the 50-point barrier when Esterhuizen rampaged over in the corner for a well-deserved try. Sadly, for the sake of the game, Welsh loose forward Aaron Wainwright was yellow-carded in the process.

The Welsh fashioned their best period of the match around the three-quarter mark, but — in their first real assault on the Bok tryline — the hybrid flank Esterhuizen turned the ball over for a penalty.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu nailed his second try when he threaded his way through the defence to make it 61-0, and the Boks were on target for 100 with 15 minutes still to play.

The industrious Ruan Nortje scored next, followed by a try for replacement lock Eben Etzebeth.

Scorers

Springboks — Tries: Gerhard Steenekamp, Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Wilco Louw, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (8)

Wales — 0