Genuine progress as heavy defeats become a thing of the past for Wales 

," Wilson added.

No one should expect Wales to travel to South Africa and be favourites and miraculously win. Now that would be silly, wouldn’t it? But is there one thing that supporters should not expect? That is a hammering at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban.

The Springboks remain the dominant force in world rugby; they are the benchmark that everyone below them so desperately strives to match. If Wales end their summer campaign by losing to Rassie Erasmus’s side, that would not surprise anyone.

You do not need to look back too far in the history books to find heavy defeats that Wales have endured. The Six Nations against England and France, where they conceded 102 points in two matches. That was as brutal as it got. Nope.

In November last year, when the Welsh Rugby Union president, Terry Cobner, wrote, “they say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”, in the matchday programme in the pairs last meeting at Principality Stadium. It was a learning curve, alright, but it turned sour for many Welsh supporters as Wales were humiliated 11 tries to nil by the Springboks.

South Africa demolished Steve Tandy’s side and did so brutally. It marked Wales’ heaviest-ever home defeat and the first time they failed to score in a home Test match since 1967.

For large parts since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, heavy defeats have become an uncomfortable feature of Welsh rugby and have even left the Welsh public in two minds about which sport is the national sport of the country.

Rugby on the international stage for Wales fell off a cliff, but with Craig Bellamy’s side failing to reach this summer’s FIFA World Cup, those discussions were put to bed. But it was a worthy argument.

Too often, games were effectively over at the break for Wales, and supporters were leaving Principality Stadium early to catch an earlier train journey home. This is Wales after all, so they were likely delayed as well, adding to the misery.

It was a torrid time, the ballooned results clearly having an emotional toll on players. Look at how winger Josh Adams reacted to his side’s 48-7 loss at Allianz Stadium; the Cardiff player was on the verge of literal tears. As were many after the sobering outing in south-west London. Belief was disappearing after only one Test match, in a five-game championship.

However, that belief has started to return in Wales on the international stage; for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, they recorded successive Test match victories against Italy and Fiji.

They may still not be delivering results against the elite nations, but that will come, and they are showing something just as important in the short term: competitiveness. Look at Tandy’s side performances against Scotland and Ireland; Wales had both stressing throughout their meetings. That shows encouragement.

Wales are starting to stay in matches for longer. They still need to work on their defence and attack, and even with that, not meeting the expected standards, they found a way to put aside Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium.

There is resilience now, and no one can say any longer that Wales are throwing in the towel when competing.

Ahead of Wales’ meeting with the Azzurri in the Six Nations, Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams was questioned on whether those agonising heavy baggage defeats were a thing of the past. “Think so,” he said.

“You're always going to build it towards the campaign and get a little bit better, but our target is to start strong in campaigns as well.” That they did this summer with an uncapped fixture triumph against the Barbarians and Fiji.

Against the Springboks, that mentality will be tested more than ever. They are asking questions of both sides, and not many have the answers. There will be periods in Durban on Saturday when Wales are under immense pressure.

This is where we will see how much progress has been made since that brutal defeat over seven months ago. Progress for Wales at this stage cannot be measured by victories; if that were the case, Tandy and other members of the backroom team might be long gone.

Milestones are what matter. Staying in the fight, limiting mistakes in defence and attack, composure in high-pressure moments. Tandy’s slowly but surely has begun ticking more boxes, despite being twelfth in the World Rugby rankings.

Nobody in professional sports should be celebrating honourable defeats, like Wales did in the 2025 Six Nations against Ireland, which was interim head coach Matt Sherratt’s first game. This can’t keep happening forever, and it won’t. At some stage, performances have to become wins, and that will remain Wales' ultimate objective.

Before Wales can beat the best, such as South Africa, they must prove they can compete with them. That’s the task this weekend for Tandy’s side, who have travelled across three continents in three weeks.

"First of all, there were a whole load of contributing factors that led to a horrible scoreline," admitted Wales assistant coach Danny Wilson earlier in the week.

"We showed some progression in recent games (against Italy, Barbarians, Fiji, Argentina). The result wasn't what we wanted, but there were some positive parts.

"We will have to be on it against a side that can hurt you very quickly

A narrower defeat, like last weekend’s 35-21 defeat against Argentina, won’t spark celebrations; it will reinforce the idea that the days of regular 30- or 40- or 73-point drubbings are fading into the past.

The rebuild is far from complete, but Wales are tracking well ahead of next year’s World Cup in Australia. Wales are now capable of taking heavy hits without collapsing to their knees, but against the world champions may represent another meaningful stride in the right direction.