South Africa v Japan was considered a one-sided fixture but not by Japan’s coaching team, Eddie Jones, Steve Borthwick and a former Ebbw Vale coach Leigh Jones. It was one of many enthralling moments in the competition but the highlight was the first game in Pool B played on Brighton’s football ground. Man of the Match was Dan Biggar who contributed 23 points in Wales’s 28-25 victory. They had the throw in to a lineout five metres from the Welsh line which failed leaving Welsh players and supporters jumping for joy and the Twickers choir silent as their Sweet Chariot sank in the depths of despair. It was a game full of drama up to the last five minutes with England needing at least a draw to go through. There were some exciting games especially in Pool A which was dominated by Australia with England and Wales battling it out at Twickenham for second place and a quarter-final. The 2015 Rugby World Cup was won by New Zealand who beat Australia in the final. LEIGH JONES – “A QUALITY COACH AND A NICE GUY” One wonders what the Bloemfontein groundsman thought of it all. On Saturday 9th July 2022 Wales won in South Africa for the first time. Two games were played on the same day on the same ground in mid-winter! One wonders what the Rodney Parade groundsman thought of it all. The Springboks based in Cardiff caught the 9.45 a.m train to Newport and in the afternoon caught the train back to Cardiff in Festive mood. Newport wanted the game at Rodney Parade but also fulfilled their traditional Boxing Day fixture with the Scottish club Watsonians. It was a strange festive fixture because it wasn’t played in the afternoon but in the morning. They played six games in Wales, the fourth on Boxing Day at Rodney Parade against Monmouthshire consisting of players from Blaina, Pill Harriers, Pontypool, Abertillery, Pontynewydd, Brynmawr, Cwmbran and an exile from London Welsh. The first Springboks came in 1906 and won 26 of their 29 games, drawing with England and losing only to Scotland and Cardiff both games played in rain and on muddy pitches. It was a typical Arthur move which he was soon to repeat for Wales and the Lions.
At full-back Robin Williams of Cardiff College of Education and later Pontypool landed three penalty goals and converted a try by Roger Beese of Cross Keys after the halves sent Arthur Lewis bursting through. Seven of the side were Ebbw Valians, Norman Edwards and Arthur Lewis centres, Mike Grindle outside-half, Gareth Howls and Denzil Williams props and wing-forward Graham ‘Gomer’ Evans. In the week before the game at Ebbw Vale the tourists lost 11-8 to Newport then defeated Swansea 12-0 and were expected to beat Monmouthshire but with a big crowd behind them and a superior back division the County won 14-9. Phil Bennett who four years later would thrill the rugby world in the Barbarians v New Zealand game was on the wing against the Springboks and it was his long pass infield collected by Barry John that ended with a crucial try by Gareth Edwards. They played 25 games winning sixteen, drawing four and losing five and struggled to keep their record of not losing to Wales in a 6-6 draw on a muddy Arms Park. The 6th Springboks were not rated as good as their predecessors. The tourists rarely lost but local teams rose to the big occasion and occasionally pulled off a surprise win which happened in Ebbw Vale on Wednesday 19th November 1969. Rugby enthusiasts from the Scottish Borders to Cornwall enjoyed watching the world’s greatest players while supporting their club and county teams. The advantage of lengthy tours to the British Isles and France by the Big Three from the southern hemisphere was that they played teams apart from internationals. THE DAY SOUTH AFRICA LOST TO NORTH MONMOUTHSHIRE