Edwill van der Merwe stars on debut as Springboks dismantle Wales in Twickenham

Wing Edwill van der Merwe capped off a magnificent debut at Twickenham with a sparkling try to seal a 41-13 victory for the Springboks in their opening match of the international season against Wales on Saturday. 

Van der Merwe’s work-rate and defensive discipline were the hallmarks of an eye-catching performance that will certainly give head coach Rassie Erasmus food for thought ahead of the much-anticipated series with Ireland.

He stepped past two Welsh forwards and out-sprinted the cover defence to score the Boks' fourth try, on an afternoon when their forward dominance wasn’t matched by output on the scoreboard. 

The Springboks asserted their authority quickly. The pack was certainly more powerful than their Welsh counterparts, with Vincent Koch, playing his 50th Test immediately setting the tone in the game’s first scrum earning a penalty off Welsh loose head Gareth Thomas.

The expected dominance from the forwards allowed eighthman Evan Roos to display his best traits, with one burst after a beautifully timed pass from Faf de Klerk almost leading to a score under the poles.

South Africa overwhelmed the Welsh at the scrum all afternoon but perhaps that led to complacency in other areas.

Having scored their first try in the fourth minute — after Roos had drawn the Welsh defence — through a sweeping move involving Aphelele Fassie, and then a lovely interchange between Jesse Kriel and Makazole Mapimpi that saw the centre dash over, the Boks failed to turn their physical advantage into points. 

A penalty try resulted from a five-metre line-out routine, which saw the Welsh reduced to 13 players when Adam Wainwright joined wing Rio Dyer in the sin bin, but the Boks added nothing more to the scoreboard in the second half. 

Instead the Welsh grew in confidence, helped by a generous yellow card to Fassi, for a high boot, which referee Chris Busby, despite views to the contrary from his assistants, felt was dangerous. 

The subsequent penalty saw Wales burst through a line-out, initially stolen by Eben Etzebeth, with hooker Dewi Lake, reacting fastest, to score a try that went against the run of play. 

South Africa seemed distracted, lost their discipline and gave away a couple of soft penalties, allowing the Welsh to reduce the gap to a single point at halftime. 

The rhythm of the second half mimicked the first; again the Boks gained the upper hand, with Mampimpi scoring shortly after the restart. 

However as in the first half, the Boks struggled to make their dominance count and while Wales deserve credit for their grittiness, the difference in class really should have been reflected better on the scoreboard. 

Blame it on early-season rust. Among the debutants, besides Van der Merwe, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, showed skill and composure in the 20 minutes he got after replacing Jordan Hendrickse. 

The starting flyhalf battled with his nerves, missing an early penalty, a kick off went straight into touch and a pass out of the back of the hand was ill-judged. Ben-Jason Dixon was efficient but not prominent and will have to look for more opportunities further down the road.

Nevertheless, once the replacements had grown into the rhythm of the match, the world champions stretched their legs with Bongi Mbonambi barging over from a line-out before Van der Merwe delivered the coup de grace. 

Fassi was impressive under the high ball, while Grant Williams, who replaced De Klerk after 53 minutes, was swift with his distribution, and also had one sparkling break, showing that the Boks’ depth at the No.9, remains strong. 

South Africa 41 (14) — Tries: Jesse Kriel, Makazole Mapimpi, Bongi Mbonambi, Edwill van der Merwe, Penalty Try. Conversions: Jordan Hendrickse (2), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalties: Hendrickse and Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Wales (13) — Try: Dewi Lake. Conversion: Sam Costelow. Penalties: Costelow (2)