South Africa 37 Wales 21: Gatland takes heart after Wales give Boks a shock

Williams' wonder try helps restore pride as the world champions are taken to the limit

In the end the scoreline might not have been much different from the previous weekend in Bloemfontein – 43-17 compared to 37-21, and four tries to two once again – but this was light years away from the lacklustre showing the Six Nations champions dished up seven days earlier.

Three times Ryan Jones' men edged their noses in front of the world champions and had Stephen Jones been more accurate with his goalkicking the result could have been even closer. As it was, Jones missed with three kicks, two penalties and a conversion that could have had the Springboks sweating even more than they were in the blistering heat of Pretoria.

Wales coach Warren Gatland also felt his side did not get the bounce of the ball from his fellow Kiwi, referee Lyndon Bray.

"I'm really proud of the performance and how we lifted ourselves from last week," said Gatland. "We came out and performed with credit and the game was there to win after 60 minutes.

"But I'm aggrieved with a few of the referee's decisions. I thought we were pretty unlucky with a call right in front of the posts. We gave everything but when the referee says there was a knock-on – when there was clearly a Springbok hand in there – it's very frustrating.

"The better team won but that was a big chance for us to really put them under pressure and possibly win the game."

The fact Wales were competitive will at least allow them to hold their heads high when they return home this week. It will also allow the players to look their coaches in the eye as they build towards a return match with the Boks at the Millennium Stadium in November. If they can improve that much in a week, how much better might they be in five months?

"It had been a difficult week and I think we did ourselves justice here today," said Ryan Jones. "We went a long way to turning things around."

Having been bullied off the ball in Bloemfontein, Wales were bold, brave and belligerent yesterday as they fought for every scrap of possession and forced an alarming number of turnovers from the home side. They also conjured two wonderful tries in a blistering first-half fightback that stunned the home fans into virtual silence.

If they were shocked to see their heroes surrender a 14-3 lead, they weren't anywhere near as non-plussed as the Springboks defence were when Shane Williams picked up a loose ball. Old twinkle-toes already held the Welsh try record with 42 in 57 appearances, but he has rarely scored a better one than his 43rd.

It began with some bloody-minded scrapping on the floor by Richard Hibbard on halfway as he turned over scrum-half Ricky Januarie in a tackle. Bakkies Botha kicked the loose ball back over halfway and Williams swooped on it two metres in from the left-hand touchline. He immediately stepped on the gas to skip outside John Smit and then turned Luke Watson inside out as he reached the 22. Having veered infield, the wing headed back to the left corner flag and left four bemused defenders in a pile behind him.

It was a staggering score and one which, even without the conversion, put Wales ahead again at 15-14. It also came in almost the same spot as Gareth Cooper had touched down in the 19th minute after an audacious front-of-the-lineout peel and 25-metre race.

Now the Springboks knew that they were in a real contest and it took Butch James's 12th successful kick in a row this series to put the home side back in the lead.

James had earlier converted tries by Jean de Villiers and Januarie and he added another penalty eight minutes after the break to stretch the lead to five points. But Wales kept their composure, held on to the ball and went through the phases. They won two more penalties which Jones gratefully stroked over to restore the lead on the hour at 21-20.

Could the impossible happen at the venue where Welsh rugby had been so badly mauled 10 years earlier with a 96-13 hammering? There was certainly belief as well as passion in every Welsh player, but an influx of fresh legs enabled the world champions to hit back.

James, despite one miss, kicked another penalty and then converted close-range tries from De Villiers and Bismarck du Plessis to put a slightly false face on the scoreboard.

South Africa: C Jantjes; T Chavhanga (P Montgomery, 64), A Jacobs (F Steyn, 60), J De Villiers, B Habana; B James, R Januarie (B Conradie, 72); T Mtawarira (G Steenkamp, 61), J Smit (capt, B du Plessis, 60), BJ Botha, B Botha (A Bekker, 64), V Matfield, L Watson, P Spies (R Kankowski, 60), J Smith.

Wales: J Hook; M Jones (T James, 77), T Shanklin (A Bishop, 67), J Roberts, S Williams; S Jones, G Cooper (W Fury, 75); G Jenkins, R Hibbard (TR Thomas, 72), R Thomas (D Jones, 70), I Gough, AW Jones, R Jones (capt, I Evans, 67), G Delve (D Jones, 23), J Thomas.

Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand).