Today's rugby news as Warburton proud of performance after player abuse and Wales display 'light years away from Italy defeat'

These are your rugby headlines on the morning of Sunday, July 3

Sam Warburton says Wales players can be proud of themselves with the way they performed against South Africa after the abuse they took following the Six Nations.

Wayne Pivac’s men came tantalisingly close to a first ever victory over the Springboks on South African soil before going down to a heartbreaking 32-29 defeat with the last kick of the game.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Lions skipper Warburton said: “I am actually really pleased even though Wales lost because of where they have come from with some of the abuse the players have taken since the Six Nations. They can be so proud of themselves for that effort today.

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“To handle the last 10 minutes the way they did with 13 men - and just 12 men at one point - I am actually really proud as a Welshman with the way they played and the way they dealt with themselves. So even though it’s a loss, it feels almost like a moral victory and it’s a great platform for them. Some of those youngsters proved they can compete out there, so it sets up the second Test really nicely.

“It will give them massive confidence going into that match. The kick battle was really good, with their kick to compete, some of the collision stuff was really good, the breakdown. They were risk averse and pretty much error free in the first-half.

"It’s just ultimately the penalties they leaked because they started losing those collisions and didn’t deal with the maul in the second half. Selection for next week will be fascinating.”

Wales centre Jonathan Davies added: “They talked about putting the pride back in the jersey and I think they did that. You could see the