'You can bottle disappointment': Wales star opens up on fightback against Boks
REACTION: Wales star Josh Adams has opened up on his team’s character after their win over the Springboks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Replacement flyhalf Gareth Anscombe kicked a late conversion from the touchline as Wales claimed their first-ever Test victory over the Springboks on South African soil.
Wales earned their error-strewn 13-12 success at the Free State Stadium after the world champions fielded a much-changed side.
Adams crossed for the only try of the game with two minutes left on the clock, leaving Anscombe with a difficult conversion to win the game.
Yet he landed the ball through the centre of the posts to make history for Wayne Pivac’s side.
It is now 1-1 in the series with the decider being played at Cape Town Stadium next weekend.
“After last week, we spoke about the disappointment and hurt and we said you can bottle hurt and disappointment,” Adams told Sky Sports.
“You bottle that up as a team and you can use that effectively and I think it showed the character of the team, the way we came back.
“It was a bit of a slump there. We were 12-6 down and we’ve come back and won it. I think it speaks volumes for the team.
“South Africa’s defence is renowned for being a strong one. And so it is. It takes a lot of effort and time to break a defence like that down. The try at the end was taken excellently by the team.
“[The Anscombe conversion] was a very special moment. I’m absolutely chuffed for him especially after he missed the birth of his second child and his son. I’m super happy for him.”
#OPINION: How the @WelshRugbyUnion players rated during their narrow win over @Springboks #Rugby #news #RSAvWAL https://t.co/d6VEDTckI4
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Meanwhile, Wales captain Dan Biggar praised his team for staying in the fight in Bloemfontein
“It was a huge squad effort, the lads who came off the bench were incredible,”Biggar said at the post-match presentation.
“We felt we were in pretty good nick last week and were unlucky not to get the job done, so I’m over the moon.
“Being the first Welsh team to win on South African soil makes me really proud. It would have been easy for us to fold in the first half and concede a try or two, but we managed to stick in and rolled our sleeves up.”
Additional sources: AAP & AFP
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#OPINION: Where did it all go wrong for the Boks? Check out our Player Ratings👇#SouthAfrica #Springboks #Wales #RSAvWAL https://t.co/mcdOuQkkxX
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 9, 2022
