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CARDIFF. — Warren Gatland expressed his “relief” after seeing his Wales team sucked into an arm wrestle before edging South Africa 24-22 in an international rugby match on Saturday.

Converted tries by Scott Williams and Hadleigh Parkes (2) had seen Wales race out to a 21-3 lead, the home side happy to torment the South African backs.

But tries by Warrick Gelant and Handre Pollard pulled the visitors right back into the game and their increased street-saviness almost saw them snatch a victory that had looked far from likely early on in the game. A third try from Jesse Kriel saw the Springboks briefly take the lead before Leigh Halfpenny’s decisive penalty 12 minutes from time.

“It’s a bit of relief,” said Gatland, whose team went down to Australia (29-21) and New Zealand (33-18) either side of a scrappy 13-6 win over Georgia in their autumn series. — AFP.