TEST MATCH: South Africa 37 Wales 21: WARREN GATLAND'S belief that Wales could be world champions in 2011 has been reinforced by his side's performance in Pretoria despite seeing them lose to South Africa, holders of the Webb Ellis Cup, for the second time in a week.
"Playing against teams like South Africa is a good litmus test; it's a new level for us," said the Wales head coach after Saturday's Test. "If we had been playing another Six Nations team today, we would have won comfortably. We need to start winning against the Southern Hemisphere nations, first at home and then away.
"We need to look at England, who tried to play Southern Hemisphere opposition as much as possible. First they began beating them at Twickenham, which got their confidence up, then they started winning away from home and then they went on to win the World Cup."
A 16-point margin of victory flattered the Springboks, who were trailing 21-20 on the hour and extended their lead with a try after the final hooter. After the first match in Bloemfontein, where a lacklustre Wales were hammered 43-17, pride was restored at Loftus Versfeld.
"I'm very proud of the performance; for the first 60 minutes the game was there to win," said Gatland. "The better team won but we performed with credit today and the scoreline definitely flattered them."
Helped by a typically dazzling Shane Williams try, Wales had fought back after a terrific start by the Springboks and it was a bitter pill to swallow when they were halted by a contentious knock-on call at a ruck under the hosts' posts, allowing South Africa to break free and score a penalty.
The second try soon after, by the centre Jean de Villiers, turned the Springboks' one-point deficit into a 30-21 lead.
"We were aggrieved by a few decisions, especially the one under the poles when we were in front," Gatland said.
"The referee (New Zealander Lyndon Bray) called a knock-on but you could clearly see a Springbok hand in there. That's a penalty the other way and a yellow card."
Nevertheless, the way the Welsh stood up to the immense physicality of the Springboks and matched them at the breakdowns will be a tremendous tonic for them when they prepare for their next outing, against the world champions in Cardiff in November.
"The players and coaches have learned a lot and we are on the right track if we continue that progress," said Gatland.
"The Springboks have some very strong ball-carriers but we defended ferociously and stopped their offloads. We can now look forward to the challenges in November."
Wales's defence coach, Shaun Edwards, said their performance was built on "real spirit and pride".
He said: "We showed that we never give in. That was a more true reflection of this team than last week. It could have gone either way at 60 minutes - we really took them on. The team has shown a vast improvement after the last six months, with just the one blip last week."
Great ambition is clearly also eating away at Edwards.
"We're on a journey to be competitive against the Southern Hemisphere sides, to be able to beat them regularly," he said. "We need some extra work to win away in the Southern Hemisphere. We need a lot of work still in the physical department."
Paradise for Wales - lifting the Webb Ellis Cup at Eden Park in 2011 - may still be a long way off but at least they are heading in the right direction.
SOUTH AFRICA: Jantjes; Chavhanga (Montgomery, 64), Jacobs (Steyn, 60), De Villiers, Habana; James, Januarie (Conradie, 72); Mtawarira (Steenkamp, 61), Smit (capt; Du Plessis, 60), BJ Botha, B Botha (Bekker, 64), Matfield, Watson, Smith, Spies (Kankowski, 60).
Tries; De Villiers 2, Januarie, Du Plessis. Cons: James 4. Pens: James 3.
WALES: Hook; M Jones (James, 77), Shanklin (Bishop, 67), Roberts, Williams; S Jones, Cooper (Fury, 75); Jenkins, Hibbard (TR Thomas, 72), R Thomas (Duncan Jones, 70), Gough, AW Jones, R Jones (capt; Evans, 67), J Thomas, Delve (Dafydd Jones, 24).
Tries: Cooper, Williams. Con: S Jones. Pens: S Jones 3.
Referee: L Bray(New Zealand).
Guardian Service
Scots get a lift
SCOTLAND ARE expected to overtake Fiji in ninth place in the updated IRB world rankings when they are confirmed today after their 26-14 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday, but will remain behind Ireland in eighth place, writes Gerry Thornley.
Scotland's win away to the world's third-ranked team will be a significant boost for their points tally but not enough to overtake Ireland, who themselves could have closed the gap on seventh-placed France had they won in Melbourne on Saturday.
The world rankings will be used as the seeding system for the 2011 World Cup draw when it is made in December, with eighth place securing a second-tier seeding whereas ninth to 12th will be in the third tier. The autumn internationals will therefore assume a significance they normally would not have.
