Wales v South Africa: Wayne Pivac awaits reinforcements for Springboks after New Zealand loss

The good news for Wales is New Zealand have exited the Principality Stadium stage after hammering Wayne Pivac's side.

The bad news is fellow rugby top billers South Africa arrive in Cardiff next weekend.

Depleted Wales conceded a record number of points in Cardiff against a Beauden Barrett-inspired All Blacks in the 54-16 defeat, a result that allowed New Zealand to leapfrog the Springboks and go back to the top of the world rankings.

Now the world champions charge into Wales looking to regain their number one status.

There will be a sizable Welsh relief force coming over the border in the shape of those players at English clubs who were not released for the New Zealand fixture, as the match was arranged outside World Rugby's international window.

Dan Biggar, Taulupe Faletau, Nick Tompkins, Louis Rees-Zammit, Callum Sheedy, Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza are due to join the squad.

There is a caveat, as Faletau has not played this season because of an ankle problem and Biggar and Young both came off injured for their clubs over the weekend.

Wales head coach Pivac maintains he always knew what was coming.

"We talked about the squad we had for this match," said Pivac.

"We had two weeks to focus and we wanted to get as many learnings out of it as we could.

"It was a good experience for some guys who hadn't played at this level for a while. Now we've got players coming back in. We'll settle on a squad early next week for South Africa.

"There's some experienced boys coming in and some boys who aren't so experienced. We'll get them in and assess them on Monday and see who's fit to go."

Stark lack of depth hurts Wales

Alun Wyn Jones lifting the Six Nations title in March seems a distant memory as Wales have slipped to ninth in the world rankings.

It was the stark lack of depth that hampered Wales on Saturday, with a notable difference in the strength of the two benches for a final quarter that saw rampant New Zealand run in four tries.

An undercooked Wales were spirited in the opening 60 minutes but there was no mercy from an All Blacks side who won the Rugby Championship this year.

"It was a disappointing scoreline in the end," added Pivac.

"Getting back to 28-16 with about 18 minutes to go, it was important we took the kick-off and exited well but we gave away a silly penalty, it's inexcusable.

"Those are the fine margins against good sides like New Zealand. Chuck in a couple of intercepts and the score blows out. That was the disappointing part for us."

While a woeful Welsh lineout and struggling scrum did not help, physical conditioning also concerned Pivac.

"Clearly, the last 20 minutes showed the difference between fitness levels," said Pivac.

"You're talking about a side who's been playing international rugby on the road for a couple of months. That was the conversation Ian Foster (New Zealand head coach) and I had afterwards.

"We fell off a cliff. You know it's coming because they've been doing it for years. It highlighted the big gap in fitness.

"We've had a handful of club games and they had Test matches. We felt that we needed to be in the game and play well in that last 20 minutes. Their subs added impact and did well.

"We've got some work to do in that area. It won't come overnight, but we'll work hard before the next opponent."

Wales back row Ross Moriarty was forced off the field in the first half against New Zealand after this incident

What Pivac cannot control is the burgeoning injury list that captain Jones and Ross Moriarty have joined after coming off in the first half against New Zealand.

Lock Jones is awaiting the result of a scan on his shoulder injury, while Pivac confirmed Moriarty has an AC joint injury.

Fellow British and Irish Lions Ken Owens, George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric, Dan Lydiate and Liam Williams were already absent against New Zealand through injury.

Centre Willis Halaholo was unavailable because of Covid-19, Ellis Jenkins missed out because of a rib problem and potential squad players such as Josh Macleod, James Botham, Leon Brown, Rhys Patchell and James Davies are also missing.

The long list of casualties proved the dominant factor behind Wales' lack of strength in depth.

The narrative about the English-based players not being available has been convenient. Of those, probably only fly-half Biggar and wing Rees-Zammit would have started on Saturday.

Brilliant Basham

Pivac said this game was a crucial learning experience ahead of the 2023 World Cup with Wales having not played the All Blacks in Cardiff for four years.

"We knew about the game for a long time," said Pivac.

"We were excited with the squad we had. Every boy that took the field was very excited. There were learnings for some.

"Some played very well. Up to the 60-minute mark, I was very pleased with the performance. Small margins and you get punished. That performance will have helped us for 2023."

The game did at least unearth a potential young star as Dragons flanker Taine Basham, 21, impressed in the Wales number seven shirt in his first international start.

With Navidi, Tipuric, Macleod, Botham and Jenkins unavailable, Basham was Wales' most influential performer.

"Someone like Taine stood up and played very well," added Pivac.

"He was our man of the match. A young guy whose confidence will go through the roof. He's now an extra player we have at this level."

Change at 10?

At the other end of the scale, 34-year-old Rhys Priestland was the sole Welsh replacement who influenced the game in his first international in four years.

While Beauden Barrett's man-of-the-match masterclass at 10 gained the headlines, Pivac will be considering his outside-half options against the Springboks.

It was the romantic return of two Welsh 10s with Gareth Anscombe starting his first international for two years after overcoming an horrific knee injury.

Gareth Anscombe (centre) and Rhys Priestland (right) both played their first internationals under Wayne Pivac against New Zealand

Understandably for a man who was missing for 25 months and had three surgeries, Anscombe looked like a player who was easing himself back into the Test arena.

His quest to settle was hampered by the early interception pass to Barrett for the opening New Zealand try.

Priestland came on early in the second half and initially Wales looked more dangerous, with the chip kick from the Cardiff fly-half pounced on by centre Johnny Williams for the hosts' only try.

Wales will monitor Biggar's fitness, while Sheedy also arrives in camp from Bristol as the number 10 options rise to four.

"Gareth started the game and it was our intention to play both," added Pivac.

"They both played a half which is what we were after. I thought Rhys played exceptionally when he came on. He'll be happy with that performance."

Cardiff crowd returns

One thing that could take a slight edge off the All Blacks drubbing was that it was played in front of a capacity Principality Stadium crowd - the first since February 2020.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) says it raised £4m revenue from the controversial fourth autumn international fixture.

"The drive in was exceptional," said Pivac.

"It's a privilege to be a part of it. It's hard to explain the feeling on the bus when you see those fans who have been missing for two years. That's a massive positive. The anthem and the crowd lifted us.

"Up until that, I was enjoying the day."

A sentiment most Wales rugby fans will share.