FULL-TIME, WALES 12-45 SOUTH AFRICA. A stunning win for the Springboks to end their Test year. A tough night for the Welsh at the end of a miserable year of Test results, but they fought hard and earned themselves two consolation tries. For the Boks, a triumphant night at the end of a magnificent season. Viva le Boks! Viva Rassie! Can 2025 be any better? Hope you enjoyed following the action with us, and here's to a great sporting Sunday!

CONVERSION, WALES, THOMAS! 12-45; Smacked over from almost in front of poles… and there's the final whistle!

TRY, WALES, BOTHAM! 10-45; Wales drive forward and up to the Boks 5m line… they run left then drive forward… before Botham squirms over the line for the try.

CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, HENDRIKSE! 5-45; Hendrikse's kick starts 5m wide of the poles but then seems to magically snap back to slice through the poles.

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, HENDRIKSE! 5-43; Lovely passing and running from the Boks, with Jordan Hendrikse diving over near the corner for the try.

Boks counter and run down the left wing, then press inside and run right, then left as they make their way to the 22…

Boks run from their lineout, first right then left… but they concede a penalty and Wales kick play up for a lineout two steps inside the Boks 22…

Now Boks win their lineout inside the Welsh 22, but Wales snaffle the ball back and clear the danger.

Boks win the lineout on their 10m, press forward, awarded a scrum just inside the Welsh half.

Wales with the scrum in the Boks 22… the break fast to the blind side… but… ref blows for a Bok penalty and a chance to push the Welsh back… 

Wales press forward into the Bok half…

CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, HENDRIKSE! 5-38; Hendrikse from the right, 12m in from touch, slots it through perfectly… lovely conversion.

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, STEENEKAMP! 5-36; Wales can only hold them so long, before big, burly and bearded Steenekamp edges over for the try. Super pressure from the Boks.

Penalty again and the Boks take a quick tap and go and push to 2m from the line…Wales on full alert as the Boks press forward…

Pressure… pressure… and another penalty on the 5m, with another scrum elected.

The Boks press Wales on their 5m, win a penalty right in front of poles… and they elect a scrum!!!!

Boks with the scrum just inside the Welsh half… they run the ball and win a penalty just short of the 10m, Pollard kicking intot he 22 for a lineout.

Pollard misses with his conversion from the touchline, but the lead is plenty big still.

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, FASSI! 5-31; Lovely work from the Boks, Arendse driving through on the blind side, slips inside one man then dummies the next, releasing Fassi to drive to the line then dive over for the score. Lovely try from the Boks in the left corner.

Boks clear the danger and drive play up to the Welsh 22, with Pollard now on the field.

Another penalty, this time on the 5m, and the Welsh kick for a 5m lineout…

Boks blown for a high elbow and Wales have a penalty inside the Bok half, and it's kicked into touch for a lineout in the Boks 22…

Wales kick deep into the Boks half, but that launches a green-and-gold counter-attack…

ARENDSE BREAKS through the middle but is held up on the 22… the Boks spread the ball left then right… but they are blown for an infringement and Wales will kick clear from their 22.

Scrum down near the Boks 22, but Wales are penalised and Hendrikse kicks to touch just short of the Welsh 10m.

Boks pressing deep in the Welsh half but they clear upfield for a moment of respite.

Boks drive forward into the Welsh half, lovely run into the Welsh 22 but Fassi is forced into touch. Cameron Hanekom comes on as a sub to make his Test debut - huge moment for the young Bulls player.

KICK-OFF! We're underway with the second half…

HALF-TIME! WALES 5-26 SOUTH AFRICA. A brutal 37 minutes of dominance from the Boks who are looking dynamic, but a lovely fightback right at the end from Wales. Second half to follow… and it's smelling delicious.

TRY, WALES, DYER! 5-26; Right at the end of the first half, with the clock in the red, Wales press the Boks back on their 5m, then run the ball wide to Rio Dyer, who powers through a Bok tackle before taking another over the line with him, just managing to scrape the ball on the turf and the pair of players go head over heels over the line and out of play. Super play from Wales and what a time to do it. They needed to take a piece of confidentce back into the dressing room. Sam Costelow's conversion attempt from the right touchline is a couple of metres wide. And there's the whistle.

Great play for Wales to counter-attack, dragging play up into the Bok 22…

CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, HENDRIKSE! 0-26; Right under the poles… c'mon, give him a real test!

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, LOUW! 0-24; South Africa awarded a penalty on the Welsh 5m almost in front of poles, but it's taken quickly by Elrigh Louw who picks up and drives over the line, taking a hamper of Welshmen with him. Great thinking and what power!

LOVELY RUNNING from the Boks, from the right touchline to the centre, running at pace and all around the Welsh defence… the ball is popped up from a maul near the poles and KOLISI dives over for a try……… but the bloody TMO and ref decide to be petty and look back for a possible knock-on at the back of a ruck by Jaden Hendrikse. Why do these officials worry about the rules when there is so much rugby romance all around them? TMO sees there was a knock-on. Would have been a lovely try though.

Eben Etzebeth has taken a knock and is led dazed off the field… that's the end of his record-breaking appearance in a Bok jersey. Let's hope it's nothing serious.

DOUBLE TROUBLE! Lovely cross-kick for Arendse, who rises on the left touchline and knocks the ball in, Fassi powers through to collect and dives over but is JUST held off the ground by two Welshmen. Tight call from the ref but looks like he got it right. A minute later Jaden Hendrikse does a chip over the Welsh defense from the back of a maul 10m from the Welsh line… brother Jordan runs onto it and comes SOOOOOO close to collecting and crashing over for a try… but the bounce was just not on their side. Surely they imagined that many a time as kids in the back garden… but reality is cruel. Try again, brothers!

Boks counter-attack and drive into the Welsh 22…

Boks counter-attack and drive into the Welsh 22…

The Welsh press forward but lose momentum and possession to the Boks.

Wales now pressing into the Bok half and winning a scrum on the 10m line…

CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, HENDRIKSE! 0-19; Lovely kick from the left touchline. The Boks have almost 80% possession and a point a minute. This looks like a dark way for the Welsh to end 2024's fixture commitments…

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, ARENDSE! 0-17; Arendse slides over for a try near the left touchline, having stepped inside a tackle and then held off a tackle! Brilliant try… setup by the Boks winning their lineout on the other touchline and slinging the ball quick and wide. Arendse has now scored against every opponent he has played against - what an absolute shining light in the history of South Africa rugby. He's a fan favourite and a legend.

Boks keep pressing deep inside the Welsh 22… and they win a penalty for a tap back by the Welsh. Henrikse kicks to the 5m line for a lineout. 

And they have to scrum again… this time the Boks break from the back, Jasper Wiese picking it up and charging from the base… the Boks press to the left and they're inside the 5m line pressing… Kolisi is bundled over the line by his team-mates… but he's on his back and the ball is up in the air… Wales have the drop out.

The Boks win a lineout on the 5m lineout… they run the line, ref calls out a scrum advantage, the Boks keep pressing… and the ref blows for that knock-on in the lineout and we'll finally have a scrum just short of the Welsh 5m…

The Boks power forward back into the Welsh half and down towards their left corner flag.

The conversion from close to the left touchline slides wide.

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, ETZEBETH! 0-12; Almost from the restart the Boks power forward at Wales, running the ball to the left touchline where Kurt-Lee Arendse on the touchline draws his man with a pass inside to Eben Etzebeth, who strides over for the try unchallenged. Superb from South Africa… and woefully loose from Wales.

CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, HENDRIKSE! 0-7; Nice conversion from 14m in from the right touchline.

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, MOSTERT! 0-5; The Boks win the lineout, run the ball down to the right touchline, the Boks drawing their man one after another, before the ball is flipped up from the loose to Mostert who comes flyign through a Welsh tackle before sprinting 12m unchallenged to dive over for the try.

The Boks win the lineout, run the ball then drive to the 5m line. there's a maul… and the Boks are penalised for playing it on the ground. A moment of respite for Wales who punt the ball upfield for a lineout.

OUCH! Jordan Hendrikse is tackled in the air after rising to catch an up and under, and the Boks have a penalty inside their own half… and it's kicked into touch inside the Welsh 22 for a Bok lineout.

The Dragons are in white with just a red sash down either flank of their jerseys. Perhaps sash isn't the best way to describe it, but seeing as they haven't won this year I don't they're in a position to put up much of a fight.

KICK-OFF! We're underway with the final Test match of the year for the Boks and the Welsh!

Anthems done… it's action stations at the Millennium Stadium!

We're about to have the anthems at ths incredible stadium accompanied by flashing lights and fireworks on the sidelines. Those fireworks will be on the field in just a few minutes.

Referee: Karl Dickson. Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Damian Schneider. TMO: Andrew Jackson.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Thomas du Toit. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Handre Pollard.

Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 James Botham, 5 Christ Tshiunza, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas. Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Eddie James, 23 Josh Hathaway.

The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 539. There are 256 caps in the backline, with 283 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 431 caps. The average caps per player in the backline is 36, the forwards 35, while the players on the bench average 53.

A win or a draw for the Springboks would complete the first undefeated northern hemisphere tour since 2013.

Should the Springboks win, it will be their 11th victory from 13 matches in the year for a winning percentage of 84,6% – repeating the feat of 2023 – and the highest seasonal percentage achieved since 1998 when 11 of 12 matches were won for a percentage of 91,7%.

Should the Springboks win, it will be their 55th in 78 matches since Rassie Erasmus returned (with Jacques Nienaber) in 2018 for a winning percentage of 70,5% over the past seven seasons (no matches were played in 2020), completing the raising of the team’s historic winning record by more than one whole percentage point from 62,47% to 63,60%.

The Springboks’ fourth try against England in on Saturday was the 50th of the season – the most the Boks have scored in a non-Rugby World Cup season since 1997 (when 74 tries were scored in 13 tests).

Eben Etzebeth will extend his Springbok record as the most capped player to 131 caps once he takes the field.

Saturday’s match will be the Springboks’ 101st match on British and Irish soil since the first tour in 1906 – including matches in the two Rugby World Cups held on the islands. Of those 100 matches, 66 have been won and three drawn, while 31 have been lost. The most wins (20) have come against Wales; while the most defeats have been suffered against England (11).

Stats and facts: Springbok record against Wales Played 42, Won 34, Lost 7, Drawn 1. Points scored 1 112, Points conceded 671. Tries scored 131, Tries conceded 55. Highest score 96-13. Biggest win 83 points. Win % 80,9%.

The Boks have won 10 of their last 12 Tests, which includes winning their last three Tests in a row. Their last five Tests saw them lose once to Argentina with a rotational squad, while winning their other four Tests. Their loss to Argentina was by a single point, and their four wins were against New Zealand, Argentina, Scotland and England.

Wales have lost their 11 Test matches, but they have won one of their last five matches, which includes a 35-36 win over the Reds in a friendly match. Their other four matches saw them losing three times to Australia as well as once to Fiji. In their last match they were thumped 52-20 at home to Australia.

The Boks have won four of their last five Tests against Wales, with a 33-17 average points split. Wales won the other match.

Wales are in dreadful form and look ripe for the plucking, having lost 11 Tests on the bounce. A loss against the Boks will leave Wales without a win in a calendar year for the first time since 1937. On the other side of the field are the Springboks, who have won 10 of their 12 matches this year for an astonishing winning record of 84.6%.

Good evening and welcome to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for our live coverage of the end-of-season clash between Wales and South Africa.