'Springboks strangled the game' - Wales leave SA with 'positive thoughts' after series loss

Wales coach Wayne Pivac said the pressure South Africa put on them at times in the third Test in Cape Town paid dividends for the home side.

The Springboks clinched the series with a 30-14 win, scoring three tries to one in the process.

"We'll learn from those pressure moments," Pivac commented after the game.

For his captain, Dan Biggar, "South Africa strangled the game with their set-piece and territory".

"It felt like we spent a lot of time in our half and not enough putting pressure on them," said Biggar, but he was full of praise for how Wales were in the contest until very late in the second half when the Boks pulled away.

Indeed, the Springboks were fastest out of the blocks in the opening stanza and had two tries disallowed early on. To Biggar, the challenge of staying in touching distance with the Boks on the scoreboard is one he appreciates.

"We weren't at the races in the first 10-15 minutes. South Africa started really strongly... 12 months ago, we would have potentially conceded three or four times, but the boys dug deep."

"We're disappointed we didn't come back with a series win because we felt it was right there for the taking. We felt we could have won the first Test; we pinched the second one, but with the third Test, we fell a bit short at the end of a long season."

Wales were not given a chance on this tour to South Africa after their poor showing during the Six Nations (they finished fifth, including a loss to Italy).

Pivac, however said for them, the positives outweighed the negatives.

"Not a lot of people would have predicted those first two weeks," he said.

"It will be positive thoughts heading into the next series."