Alun Wyn Jones: 'I said I hate blondes OK...'
South Africa: 37Tries: J De Villiers 2, R Januarie, B Du Plessis
Cons: B James 4
Pens: B James 3
Wales: 21 Tries: G Cooper, S Williams
Con: S Jones
Pens: S Jones 3
Not this time, but Wales went a long way to eroding their nightmare week leading up to the second test defeat to South Africa by pushing an off-colour world champions all the way and had it not been for Stephen Jones' wayward boot, Warren Gatland could've masterminded another minor miracle in Pretoria.
A torried seven days started with a 43-17 hammering in Bloemfontein, after which the Welsh players were forced to board the same flight with their rivals - whoever sanctioned this probably isn't going to be in a job for much longer - but Ryan Jones' boys earned a hell of a lot of respect after walking with imposing physicality rather than just talking about how they were going to smash their opposition backwards.
Butch James was at the fulcrum, giving the Springboks plenty of go-forward where the forwards struggled to set a platform. Jean de Villiers scored the first, last and had a hand in Ricky Januarie's try in a fine all-round display, but Bismarck du Plessis' last minute score was slightly unfair on the 'Red Dragons.'
Wales' moment of magic for the umpteenth time came from the wizardry skills of Shane Williams, who won over many new fans in the Rainbow Nation with arguably his best ever touchdown. Bamboozling five defenders who didn't know whether they were turned left or right, the twinkle-toed wing dived over for a dazzling score that overshadowed another frustrating afternoon for Bryan Habana.