Winger George North was delighted to score two tries on debut but disappointed that it was in a losing cause against South Africa.
Winger delighted with tries but downcast after Springboks defeat
Wales winger George North spoke of his delight at scoring two tries on debut against South Africa, but admitted the experience had been tempered by his side's 29-25 defeat in Cardiff.
The 18-year-old Scarlets starlet marked his international bow with a try after just six minutes as he finished off a slick back move to help his team into a 17-9 half-time lead.
South Africa hit back in the second period and scored two tries of their own to edge 26-20 ahead, only for North to revive Welsh hopes with his second of the game after latching on to a cross-field kick from Stephen Jones.
But it was not to be for the hosts, as the Springboks claimed a 12th consecutive win over their opponents by surviving a fierce late onslaught.
"I'm over the moon with the debut, but very disappointed with the defeat,"
stated North.
Fantastic experience
"The whole experience was much more than I had expected. The atmosphere was fantastic and I loved every minute.
"The call came from Stephen Jones on that first try and I just did my job coming around the corner. It all opened up for me and I thought 'I'm in here'.
"On the second try I gave the call to Stephen and he put in a great kick. I got a lucky bounce, caught the ball and went over the line.
"I was trying to work my way into the game, get some carries and make a contribution. But you can never rest against the world champions."
Now North, who became Wales' second-youngest points scorer in Tests when he crossed the whitewash for the first time, is eager to get another taste of international rugby in the remaining autumn engagements with Fiji and New Zealand.
"I'm just delighted that the Scarlets gave me the opportunity to show what I can do," he added. "Hopefully I can get some more games under my belt after this."
Praise from Gatland
Wales coach Warren Gatland was quick to praise the youngster, joking: "He was okay, wasn't he?
"It's nice to have the balance between him and Shane, a bigger winger and a smaller winger, and he got us out of trouble a few times.
"It was a great debut, to score two tries. He was not afraid to go looking for the ball. We hope we have found someone a bit special, we are glad he is capped now as he has an English father, and we hope to see him in that jersey a few more times."
But the New Zealander could not hide his disappointment after seeing his side again fall short against one of the Tri-Nations teams.
Wales have not beaten any of the 'big three' since their triumph over Australia in 2008 and have lost 11 of 12 encounters against them under Gatland's stewardship.
"It was same old same old wasn't it?" he continued. "We are gutted, it was a big chance for us and we came up short.
"It was a great game for the neutral and I am proud of how we played. It was a step up from last week and we played some great rugby. But at the end of the day it's about winning and we lost and we can't hide behind that."
