Cape Town - Former Springbok lock Kobus Wiese has described the Springboks' year-end tour to Europe as 'disastrous'.
After starting the tour with a loss to Ireland, the Springboks rebounded with wins over England and Italy before finishing with a disappointing defeat to Wales in Cardiff.
It was only the second time in history that the Boks had lost to Wales.
Wiese, speaking to SA Rugbymag, said the results weren't good enough for a team ranked No 2 on World Rugby's official rankings.
Wiese said he wasn't that surprised by the results on tour, as it had been building for some time. He said the Boks were lucky to beat Argentina twice in the Rugby Championship, lost to Australia and also only just beat the All Blacks after they already won the title.
A worrying aspect for Wiese was the fact that the "most experienced players never showed up" during the year-end tour.
The 2015 Rugby World Cup starts in September next year and before that the Boks play only four Tests.
Their first game at the World Cup is against Japan in Brighton, England on September 19, 2015.