When they come to write the Welsh rugby review of 2022, they will doubtless find many words to describe in detail the majestic try from Louis Rees-Zammit that opened the first Test between South Africa and Wales in July.
Much room, too, will deservedly be used up in painting a word picture of the gritty exploits of Tommy Reffell in the republic.
But don’t forget Sam Wainwright’s scrum. It helped Wales achieve history by securing their first victory over the Springboks on South African soil.
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Rewind to July 9 and there were seconds left on the clock with Wales ahead 13-12 after Gareth Anscombe’s touchline conversion of Josh Adams’ try. Destiny was calling Wayne Pivac’s men, but they first had to negotiate a scrum some 25 metres from their own line. Some in the crowd were rubbing their hands in gleeful anticipation and the Springbok front row, which included Vincent Koch and Malcolm Marx, could have been forgiven for tucking napkins beneath their chins and raising knives and forks.
South Africa were, after all, the best scrummaging side in the world, according to no less an authority than Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.
And the tourists had a relative novice on the field in Wainwright, who hadn’t started a senior league match at elite level in his career.
The odds on the hosts winning a scrum penalty looked short, then.. But it didn’t happen.
Somehow, Wales held out. Deservedly, plaudits came in from far and wide.
Replay it again, Sam.
“There was just this massive adrenaline rush going through you,” Wainwright says today. “You know what your job is and you are just focusing on that job. For me, in that moment, it was to scrummage. No matter how big the pressure coming through was, it was about sticking to your process — it’s just another scrum, get the basics right, don’t go off script.
“But the pressure, I can tell you, was unbelievable coming through both sides. It was the heaviest scrum I’ve experienced.
“The guy I was propping against, Ntuthuko Mchunu, was winning his first cap as well. He was a very strong player.
“I’d never experienced scrummaging at that level before. In fact, I hadn’t had much experience of scrummaging in the professional game altogether.
“But it helps when you are with a good lock. Fortunately, I had Alun Wyn Jones behind me, giving it his all.
“Alun Wyn said to me: ‘Keep that back flat and straight and I will do the rest.’
“And, to be fair, our forwards coach Jon Humphreys put a big emphasis on scrummaging as a pack. So we were all on the same page and I was lucky I had those guys around me to help me out. They all had my back.”
There is a perception of Jones as being as frosty as a cold January morning. But inside camp he is helpful and a team man to his core. “He’s a good bloke, to be fair,” says Wainwright. “He made me feel welcome as soon as I came into the set-up, and when we were scrummaging in training he’d be saying: ‘I’ve got you.’
“So he’s a leader and a really good guy. He was really good with me, helping me to learn everything, from the lineout to the scrum. He’d be saying: ‘You’ve got this now, keep your shape.’
“I was very fortunate to scrummage with him.”
Where to start with Sam Wynn Wainwright? He was born in Bodelwyddan in 1998, growing up on the north Wales coast, attending Prestatyn High School and Coleg Llandrillo and taking up rugby at Rhyl RFC.
Rupert Moon, then head of rugby in north Wales, has since told how the then teenager had the most amazing work ethic. “He emptied the tank every session and was so eager to learn and do the right thing. He was very kind and respectful, too, and had a lovely supportive family." You can read more about Wainwright here.
Banking experience with RGC 1404 and Wales U20s, the youngster began to attract interest from England, with London Irish and Harlequins linked with him before he joined Saracens in 2019 as an academy player. He has since signed a senior professional contract, but last term the club were fielding a front row made up of Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Vincent Koch. If we say competition was hot, we are dealing in significant understatement.
Koch has since moved on, but Saracens’ tighthead resources remain impressive, with Italy international Marco Riccioni and Argentina’s Eduardo Bello among those vying for a game, along with tried-and-tested campaigners Alec Clarey and Christian Judge.
Wainwright has had to bide his time. He played 10 games last season, three of them starts. This term, he’s had a couple of outings off the bench in the Premiership Cup.
Saracens, though, help him hugely behind the scenes. “The set-up is great,” says Wainwright.
“The club have worked hard with me, and while Vinnie has gone now, I’ll be grateful for the help he gave me.
“He really mentored me and put a lot of rugby knowledge into me. It was nice to get the opportunity to play against him in South Africa. He put a lot into me in terms of scrum-time. To get to train with him and learn with him every day was massive.
“Then I was on the pitch playing against him for Wales against South Africa. It was surreal.
“But he was really pleased I’d won a cap or two. There is a culture at Saracens where everyone helps each other rather than thinks just about themselves.
“You’d scrummage against Mako as a youngster and may take a beating, but then straight away he’d say ‘this is why that happened, you should be doing this rather than that’.
“Then you’d watch it back after training and there’d be more feedback again.
“I do a lot of work with former Argentina prop Juan Figallo, who now has a coaching role at the club. Chipi, as he’s known, has been unbelievable, even scrummaging against me if I didn’t manage to get scrums in during a session. He puts me in the right positions and tells me how to do stuff, so I’m very grateful.
“He worked really hard, sitting down with me, breaking things down, sending me WhatsApp messages at night-time, saying ‘Sam, this is what we need to go with’.”
Wainwright continues: “I think the key for a prop is patience. While I haven’t played a lot of professional rugby — around 20 games — I have figured in the English Championship and also in the Welsh Premiership, so I’ve been picking up experience.
“Playing at a club like Saracens, you have to prove yourself and it can take time, particularly for a prop. You have people in your position who are classed as the best and they are the best.
“The way I look at it is if I can scrummage consistently against Mako and hold my own, it’ll stand me in good stead. I want to get the best out of myself.”
Let’s return to South Africa and the selection that few saw coming.
Even Wainwright himself was shocked, while his dad needed to take a moment when told.
“I thought it was a prank when Wayne got in touch to go on the trip,” says the 24-year-old tight-head.
“I had a WhatsApp message saying ‘Hi Sam, This is Wayne Pivac. Please can you call me when you get a minute.’ I thought it was either someone from back home or the boys here having a bit of a joke. I laughed and showed it to one of the lads, then I went outside and called and it turned out to be Wayne.
“I called my dad, who was out with my sister. He had to sit down on the kerb, unable to believe the news. I called my fiancee Ellie and she was, like, ‘what?’
“It was pretty much the same with my mum.
“I called everyone really and people thought I was winding them up. It’s something you dream of but you never expect it to come about.
“After the tour, me and Ellie went on holiday to Crete and we were sat down on sunbeds by the pool looking at each other and saying: ‘Can you believe that just happened?’ We were still pinching ourselves over it.”
Living in St Albans, there were no garlands awaiting him when he got back from the Wales tour, no-one stopping him in supermarkets and asking him about that scrum and how much he enjoyed the tour.
“I guess it’s a case that unless you’re from Wales living up here, it doesn’t mean a lot,” he says.
But it meant a lot to plenty back home.
Now the leaves are falling from trees and autumn challenges await. “I’ll just go in there and do my best, the same attitude I took to South Africa,” says Wainwright.
With his enthusiasm and drive to get better, the amiable young prop who came from nowhere is still only starting out on his journey in the world of full-time rugby professionals.
As he points out, patience may be needed. But if attitude counts for anything, a bright future looks assured.
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