Summer has been very slow arriving upon these shores, but yesterday at Twickenham the sun finally shone, although for the Welsh the dark clouds of defeat continue to hover above their heads like the sword of Damocles.

60,000 converged to witness a day of rugby that also incorporated a match between the Barbarians and Fiji.

If South Africa have reached the summit of their rugby Everest with World Cup glory, then Wales are stuck at base camp wearing T-Shirts and flip-flops

At this moment, the summit is shrouded in mist as they try to find the physical requirements and the creativity to compete with the big boys.

On a muggy, airless oppressive afternoon a Springbok storm was forecast to hit Twickenham, and with Wales trailing 14-3 and down to thirteen players after just fifteen minutes, things looked ominous.

Two yellow cards to Rio Dyer and Aaron Wainwright in quick succession galvanised Wales, and to their immense credit they refused to buckle.

After half an hour, the sun broke through the clouds and immediately Dewi Lake scored a try for Wales, Costello kicked a penalty on 34 minutes and the men in red went into the break just one point adrift at 14-13.

The second half was a different story. Three South African tries gave them a 41-13 victory, the superior Springbok bench finally saw off a brave, spirited Welsh performance that lacked creativity but was full of heart.

Sadly, heart does not win international matches these days, and Wales seventh defeat in a row does not sit well with a proud rugby nation.

It is difficult to see where the next Welsh win will come from, a young inexperienced group have tasted nothing but defeat in their entire, admittedly short international career.

Wales now head to Australia for a two test series. The last time the two sides met was on 24 September 2023 at the Rugby World Cup when Eddie Jones Wallabies were thrashed 40-6 in Lyon, what Wales wouldn’t give for a victory of any margin this time around.