Sunday 30 November 2014 14:44, UK
Wales coach Warren Gatland could not bring himself to watch the final few minutes as his side finally slayed a southern hemisphere giant with a 12-6 win over South Africa.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny's boot saw off the Springboks at the Millennium Stadium to earn the hosts a long-awaited victory in Cardiff.
Halfpenny's four penalties secured a first win over South Africa, Australia or New Zealand since November 2008, bringing an end to a run of 22 successive defeats by the big three.
However, Gatland dismissed any notions of relief at the victory and said it kept Wales on course for next year's World Cup where they face England, Australia and Fiji at the pool stage.
"I couldn't watch the last couple of minutes," he said. "I was just watching it in the box on the television, standing up.
"I don't think it's a relief. It wasn't if, it was when it was going to happen. We deserved that win today. In terms of relief, and people talk about pressure, you thrive on pressure at this level, that's what it's all about.
"Our whole focus is making sure we qualify from our group, the pool of death, next year.
I couldn't watch the last couple of minutes. I was just watching it in the box on the television, standing up.
"It's nice to win - we wounded one of the big beasts. It's part of the stepping stone towards what we're trying to achieve. Our long-term aim is winning the World Cup and we think we're good enough to do that.
"We've pushed the big three pretty close in this campaign. We couldn't get across the line for two of those games, but we've done it today."
Disappointing
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer was philosophical in defeat and said it would have no bearing on the 2015 World Cup.
"Obviously it's very disappointing," Meyer said. "We knew our character and depth would be tested so we knew it was going to be tough.
"I just thought there were too many mistakes and there were two big turning points. Usually in the last 20 minutes the game opens up and we play some of our best rugby and in their two previous games, Wales have lost it in the last 10 minutes.
"When Jean [De Villiers] got injured it was a big setback. Not just because he's our captain but it took about seven or eight minutes to get him off the field and we lost our continuity.
"Then the game slightly opened up and we were getting big ball for the first time, but the yellow card for Cornal [Hendriks] was probably the end of it because suddenly we wanted to attack, six points behind, but we had to go into defensive mode, especially on scrums, especially away from home.
"A lot of youngsters came on, and especially in the backs we lacked a bit of experience but we've said we want to learn from this, we have to look hard and see where we can go from here."
De Villiers said in the pre-match build-up that the Springboks were treating the Wales match like a World Cup final, but Meyer was keen to distance himself from any parallels.
"Every single loss you take really bad as a coach, you have to look in the mirror," he said.
"There were no tries in the game, 12-6, I thought a lot of youngsters put up their hands and some others guys need some experience.
"So you have to have these games, obviously you don't want to lose. It's never great to lose ... but I don't think it has any bearing on the World Cup. What it does give you are some answers about how players respond under pressure, which will happen in the World Cup.
"We have a lot of great players coming back, 25 players. I'm very positive this doesn't have any bearing on the World Cup. We will have an unbelievably strong squad, unbelievably well prepared.
"I know we're much better than this, we'll definitely be better at the World Cup and I still believe we're on the right track and we can win it."
