Wales player ratings vs South Africa: Autumn Internationals

Back-to-back World Cup champions run riot in Principality Stadium in what was a sombering afternoon for Welsh rugby. Outmuscled, outsmarted, and outplayed, Wales hit rock bottom again.

Having still not hit the heights of the Six Nations, his weakness in the air this autumn was still getting exposed in the contest. In attack showed great footwork inside the hosts’ 22, but that was it. Nothing has seemed to have gone right for the fullback this autumn. 

The 22-year-old was brought into the squad on Monday in place of Louis Rees-Zammit, who was back playing for Bristol Bears this afternoon at Ashton Gate. Mee, who was playing his first international since the England game, looked lively when he was given the ball, but couldn't capitalise on it.

The Scarlets player, who last wore the Welsh jersey in Kitakyushu, struggled to make much of an impact in the contest. Some good handling in attack, and when Aaron Wainwright was yellow-carded, he spent some parts of the second half on the blindside.  

After a solid outing against the All Blacks, the inside centre had a quiet afternoon, as it was for many of Wales’ players. Asset in attack, but that was literally it. 

The winger is playing his first international since the Springbok meeting last autumn, and in what was a quiet opening 40 minutes, he made one noticeable hit on Damian Willemse, which then led to the hosts regaining possession. Apart from that, the rest of the 80 minutes from the Dragons player were quiet.

One of the few positives this autumn series has been how the 22-year-old has comfortably taken to his role as Wales’ main outside half. But, following Hooker’s try, he kicked the ball out and never got firing—an uncharacteristic outing for someone who’s had a strong autumn campaign up until now. 

With the absence of starman, Tomos Williams this weekend, Hardy started for the first time since Kobe. He made some great kicks in behind that were competable, but nothing came off them. He was taken off in the final quarter by fellow Ospreys player, Reuben Morgan Williams.

It was an ill-disciplined outing against New Zealand, and Thomas continued that into this encounter. He gave away yet more unnecessary penalties. He couldn’t get going against a strong South African pack, and unsurprisingly, he had his afternoon cut short as debutant Danny Southworth replaced him.

His arrows have not been firing this autumn, but this time around, it was still an area where the hooker looked nervous, especially on the odd occasion the hosts got into the Springboks’ 22. And with the scrums not going well, there was heaps of pressure on the captain to get that area right.

Significantly improved last weekend, after a poor opening two rounds against Argentina and Japan. But didn’t shine as bright this afternoon, and as expected, the scrum was dominated by the sheer strength of the visitors' forward pack. He was replaced by Christian Coleman early in the second half. 

The second rower, who hasn’t won a competitive game since September 2024, has to still wait. The 24-year-old, who played the full 80 minutes, couldn't make much of an impact.

Starting his first game since the World Cup warm-up against England in 2023, he didn’t do anything eye-catching apart from the odd hit in defence. James Ratti replaced him in the second half.

Ill discipline was the back rowers' downfall last weekend; perhaps the 25-year-old was fortunate to start today. He played a lot smarter game this weekend, decent around the breakdown area, but couldn’t match the intensity of the visitors' onslaught.  

And gets a lower score for another costly yellow card early in the second half. Is he a liability for Steve Tandy’s side moving forward?

Wales’ best forward this autumn, and with the monumental news of Jac Morgan potentially being absent for four to five months, he yet again stated his case for a spot in the XV to face England at Twickenham in February. He was yet again another standout with 16 tackles completed in the first half alone. 

Greatly missed last week, after dropping out following Wales’ Captain’s Run, the Dragons player was one of Wales’ leading ball carriers who tried everything to get over the gainline.

He went off early in the second half for a head injury assessment, but came back on and was harshly sent to the bin shortly following this.

16. Brodie Coghlan- n/a

17. Danny Southworth- 4 

18. Christian Coleman- 3 

19. James Ratti- 4 

20. Morgan Morse- 5 

21. Reuben Morgan-Williams- 4

22. Callum Sheedy- 3 

23. Ben Thomas- 4