Captain Siya Kolisi hopes Eben Etzebeth’s red card won’t overshadow the Springboks’ record 73-0 victory over Wales in Cardiff.
The Bok lock was sent off late in the match for making contact with the eyes of Wales flank Alex Mann in a scuffle.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that on purpose. There’s no way,” Kolisi said. “Eben’s said sorry to the guy already. But I don’t want that to be the highlight of the day. It’s been a good day.”
REPORT: Brilliant Boks demolish Dragons
The Springboks delivered a complete performance to close out an unbeaten end-of-year tour, scoring 11 tries and keeping Wales scoreless in what became the hosts’ biggest-ever home defeat.
For Kolisi, the win was another marker of a squad that has evolved through a demanding Test schedule.
“We’re very happy with what we’ve done,” he said. “We’ve used over 50 players throughout the year, so working on squad depth while winning is a big thing for us as a group.”
Kolisi credited the Boks’ tactical clarity for the way they controlled the match.
“We had a plan and we respected Wales,” he said. “We tried not to play in our half at all. We wanted to play in their half. They made more tackles because we played most of the game there, but it wasn’t easy. We had to fight for everything.”
The Bok captain also addressed criticism around Wales selecting an inexperienced side due to club-release restrictions, arguing the fixture will benefit the hosts long-term.
“The only way for a team to get better is to play against the best,” Kolisi said. “Next year, when their young guys come through, they’ve already faced the team at the top. Welsh people are fighting people. They don’t stand down for anybody.”
He drew parallels between Wales’ current rebuilding phase and South Africa’s struggles earlier in the decade.
“We’ve been through this too. In 2015 a lot of guys retired, and we struggled. People burnt our jerseys. Nobody wanted to watch us. Then Coach Rassie came and made a plan. The players will fight, the coaching staff will make a plan.”
The Springboks end 2025 with 12 wins from 14 Tests and will return to action in mid-2026 as the world’s top-ranked side.
Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
