IT TOOK him a while but flanker Dan Lydiate finally scored his maiden try for Wales at the weekend, although given the team’s display in beating Japan it wasn’t a moment he was able to fully savour.

The former Newport Gwent Dragons back-rower crossed for his country’s first of three tries in their 33-30 victory in Cardiff, doing so in what was his 59th Test match in a Welsh jersey.

When Lydiate touched down it looked like the floodgates might open and the hosts would go on to cruise to a comfortable win at a packed Principality Stadium.

However, with a minute to go they were facing the prospect of being held to a draw by the side that had won the last meeting between the two nations in 2013.

Luckily for Wales and interim head coach Rob Howley, replacement fly-half Sam Davies came up trumps with a last-ditch drop-goal to break Japan hearts.

Reflecting on his first international try, Lydiate said: “It’s obviously a nice achievement but it still feels like a bit of a loss.

“All credit to the Japanese team, they showed how elusive they can be, and they certainly punished us when they had the ball in hand.

“It was my 59th cap so I wouldn’t say I’m a prolific try scorer. It was nice to get over but it’s more important that the team go well and we’re disappointed.

“We’re licking our wounds. We were too loose at times and we got punished for it.

“If we do that next week it’s not going to be a pretty scoreline, so we’ll look at the video and hopefully tighten things up for South Africa.”

Giving his take on the Springboks, who come to Cardiff this Saturday, he continued: “They’ll be wanting to finish the autumn internationals on a high and there will certainly be a backlash coming.

“They’re one of the most physical teams in world rugby, there’s no doubt about that, and if you don’t stop them it’s going to be a hard day at the office and there will be a high scoreline.

“They’re not a poor team by any means, and you want to play against the southern hemisphere teams.

“In recent years we’ve come up short. We got a win over them in 2014, and if we can get the result this time then three out of four is not too bad in an autumn series.”