Interim head coach Rob Howley insists Wales have plenty of work to do if they are to challenge for next year’s RBS 6 Nations, despite picking up three Autumn International wins for the first time since 2002.
A 27-13 victory over South Africa completed an autumn well done for Howley and his side who were also victorious against Japan and Argentina at the Principality Stadium in previous weeks.
Leigh Halfpenny proved the instrumental factor in Cardiff, kicking 17 points in a confident display from the tee, while Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric ensured it was far from a one-man display.
And Howley believes Wales saved the best performance until last, but feels there is still another step up to make if they are to topple England, the 2016 RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam winners.
“We targeted three or four wins this autumn and we reached that target. The attitude and effort of the players has been great and I’m quite happy with the past five weeks,” said Howley.
“To beat Argentina and South Africa has to be deemed a success in this series. But we all now we will have to go to another level before we face England and Ireland.
“We were quite comfortable for the whole 80 minutes and at 20-6 we were looking for the next score. It was disappointing to see them score and we lacked a little bit of discipline in those last 20 minutes.”
Despite Wales taking the spoils, it was the Boks who came out of the blocks firing, boasting as much as 92 per cent possession in the first ten minutes of the contest.
But with just one Elton Jantjies penalty to show for their efforts, Halfpenny’s accuracy from the tee came to the fore with a quartet of penalties to put the hosts 12-6 up come the interval.
But the magic was soon to come, some exemplary Dan Lydiate work setting up a move from which Owens scored the first try of the match early in the second half.
Springbok flanker Uzair Cassiem hit back to set up a nervy finale, though Tipuric dazzled his way through the defence to pick up a score of his own in the latter stages.
Yet Howley admitted more was left in the locker but that he was pleased with the work that has gone into preparing for next year’s RBS 6 Nations as Wales eye up a first title since 2013.
“We were probably two tries short and the speed of ball we got wasn’t as quick as it could have been,” he continued.
“But there were some good decisions made by players out there and you can see the influence of the skills work being done with them in the regions and with Wales.”
