Wales comeback falls short

Wales threatened to stage a dramatic late turnaround against South Africa but ultimately slipped to a 34-31 defeat in the one-off Test.

The world champions struggled in the early stages at the Millennium Stadium as the hosts surged into a comfortable lead through a try from James Hook.

But the Springboks eventually sparked into life and debutant Juan de Jongh seemed to have rounded out victory after adding to tries from Odwa Ndungane and Dewald Potgieter.

However, Tom Prydie and Alun-Wyn Jones both crossed the try-line in the final 10 minutes to set up a grandstand finish.

Wales went into the contest in search of just their second win in 104 years against the Springboks before heading off on a demanding tour of New Zealand.

Changes

Head coach Warren Gatland made three changes from the final Six Nations clash against Italy, with wing Leigh Halfpenny, prop Paul James and lock Deiniol Jones handed starts.

Record try-scorer Shane Williams missed out but Hook delayed shoulder surgery by a week in order to play.

Meanwhile, their opponents had only a handful of their established internationals on display and handed maiden starts to de Jongh, wing Gio Aplon and flanker Francois Louw.

It was Wales who started the brighter, with Stephen Jones slotting through a ninth-minute penalty before Hook doubled the lead with a drop-goal.

Stand-off Jones and opposite number Ruan Pienaar then exchanged penalties as the hosts maintained their six-point advantage.

South Africa fell further behind when John Smit's ambitious pass fell into the arms of Hook, who sprinted 40 metres for the opening try.

Piennar's second penalty cut the lead to 10 points before the Wales defence started to come under siege.

Tries

The Springboks crossed the try-line for the first time as they fired the ball out wide to Ndungane before the Sharks wing dived under a tackle from Prydie to score.

Pienaar missed a difficult conversion but slotted a penalty over five minutes later to reduce the gap to two points at the half-time interval.

Shortly after the restart, South Africa took the lead for the first time as Danie Rossouw's brilliant one-handed pass to Potgieter sent him through an inviting gap.

Pienaar added the extras, and although Wales responded through a Jones penalty, it was South Africa that now held a two-point lead.

A period of Wales pressure followed but it came to nothing as the visitors regained possession and cleared before Francois Steyn booted over a long-range penalty.

And the contest seemed to have been killed off when De Jongh's neat footwork sent him over on his debut and Pienaar added the conversion.

Wales did fight back though, with Bradley Davies being held up over the South Africa line before 18-year-old Prydie touched down.

Another Pienaar penalty looked to have put the result beyond doubt, but Jones then took Sam Warburton's off-load over for a try to set up a nervous finish for the World Cup winners.