Dan Biggar feels that the future is bright for Wales after his Test career drew to a close following an agonising Rugby World Cup exit.
Wales fly-half Biggar bowed out at Stade Velodrome as hopes of reaching a third World Cup semi-final in the last four tournaments were ended by Argentina.
Biggar, who turns 34 on Monday, won 112 caps during a 15-year career at the top.
He also scored more than 600 points for Wales and was the team’s tactical controller, but Argentina ensured no fairy-tale finish for him, posting a 29-17 victory that took them to Paris and a semi-final appointment with New Zealand on Friday.
Biggar, though, is enthused by the squad he leaves behind, with head coach Warren Gatland having already started an impressive transformation process following last season’s Six Nations misery.
Wales only avoided the wooden spoon by beating Italy in Rome as their campaign played out against a back-drop of contractual and financial uncertainty in Welsh professional rugby that almost led to a players’ strike prior to facing England in Cardiff.
But an unbeaten march through their World Cup pool – it included a record 40-6 win against Australia – and 19 points collected from a possible 20 highlighted an impressive revival.
The tournament also saw further progression for players like Biggar’s expected fly-half successor Sam Costelow, squad co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake and Exeter forwards Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza.
And there were those who did not make the final 33-strong World Cup group – centre Max Llewellyn, wing Tom Rogers, prop Keiron Assiratti, plus locks Ben Carter and Teddy Williams, among others – that give further cause for optimism.
“If you had offered this five months ago, we would have snapped your hand off,” Biggar said.
“This young group have driven standards and pushed us to keep going.
“I have got no doubt they will achieve some really good things if they keep the squad together and allow boys like Sam Costelow some time in that 10 seat and allow him to drive it and make it his team.
“I sat Sam down and told him to make this team his own going forward. I told him ‘my time is over – this is your time, so make it count’.
“I am sure he will because he is a huge talent with a bit of genuine X-factor about him. He can develop into a real leader.
“A strong core of young players will have learned so much from this experience, and they will know that they have got the talent to rub shoulders with the best of the best. I really think the future is bright for Welsh rugby.
“Hopefully people will remember me for being passionate and caring about every moment.
“I am going to miss it. I didn’t think I would be particularly emotional – I almost thought I would be relieved – but there is definitely a bit of sadness.
“I am definitely going to miss it in the months and years to come.
“I think it will be raw for a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks, but when I reflect back on my career hopefully I will be fairly pleased with what I have done.”
With Gatland in the early phase of a five-year contract during a second stint as Wales boss, attention will soon turn to this season’s Six Nations, while Wales also have a fixture against the Barbarians on November 4.
Japan-bound backs Liam Williams and Gareth Anscombe will not be available for the Six Nations, and it remains to be seen if any players follow Biggar into international retirement.
Gatland added: “You have got to take learnings. How do we develop and improve as a squad?
“I am incredibly proud of the work these players and the whole staff have put in. We have made some really good strides.
“We need to continue on that path. We don’t want to be going backwards, and that is a good challenge for us to accept and make sure we continue to keep improving.”
'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.
The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.
Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation.
"We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.
"We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.
"They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.
"Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.
"There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.
"We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."
South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup.
Schmidt flummoxed by 'bizarre' Test as Australia downed by South Africa
Joe Schmidt said he cannot recall ever being involved in a more "bizarre" Test as his Australia side were downed 30-12 by South Africa in the Rugby Championship.
Malcolm Marx touched down twice for the Springboks in rainy Perth to make it two from two in the tournament but the Wallabies were hit by a swathe of injuries.
Front-row pair Allan Alaalatoa and Angus Bell were unable to return for the second half and scrums went uncontested after replacement prop James Slipper failed a head injury assessment.
The Wallabies even went down to 14 briefly when hooker Josh Nasser went off injured, though they did return to a full 15.
Reflecting on the unfortunate series of events, head coach Schmidt told Stan Sport: "It's probably one of the most bizarre games I've ever been involved in.
"In over 100 Test matches that I've been involved in I've never had a situation like that before. It happened so early in the game as well. When Slips got a head knock right after half-time.
"And then we were straight down. And then we played with 14 for a period of time before the officials worked out that we were still entitled to have a full pack because of the HIA.
"But I still am proud of the way that the guys fought their way through that second half. And the way that they stayed in the fight in the first half. It could have been, and I know it could have been as easy to say, but it could have been 12-11 at half-time and that would have been a massive lift for the boys."
Australia are winless through their first two matches, both against the Springboks, and will next face Argentina in La Plata on August 31.
Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies
Malcolm Marx scored two tries in the second half to lead South Africa to a 30-12 victory over Australia in rainy Perth.
After a tight first half, the Springboks asserted their dominance to make it two wins from two in the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting with New Zealand next week.
Noah Lolesio's penalty gave Australia the early lead, but they could not hold onto it for long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu equalised moments before Aphelele Fassi latched onto a long kick to touch down the first try.
Lolesio slotted in two more kicks only to miss another on the stroke of half-time that would have given the Wallabies the lead.
They were punished for it after the break as Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx twice touched down to maintain South Africa's perfect start.
Though it was a marked improvement for the Wallabies from their opening-day performance in Brisbane, Joe Schmidt still has work to do to get them ready for Argentina next weekend.
Data Debrief: Springboks extend Australian run
South Africa have now won each of their last three Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia. The last time they recorded a longer such winning run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.
Though Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats, they showed more of a fight. Last week, it took them 75 minutes to score, compared to just three this time around.
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