Wales v South Africa rugby pitch invader receives lifetime ban

A pitch invader who interrupted the Wales v South Africa rugby match has received a lifetime ban.

Wales were ultimately beaten by Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx’s 73rd-minute try and a later Elton Jantjies penalty in the Cardiff rain, but they were drawing 15-15 when the second-half incident happened.

The hosts were attacking through substitute Liam Williams when the spectator ran onto the pitch only a few metres away from him and inside South Africa’s 22.Williams had to jump over the pitch invader as he was pinned down and then led away by stadium security staff, although it appeared unlikely that Wales would have scored.

The intruder has been identified with the help of South Wales Police and slapped with a lifetime stadium ban.

Mark Williams, Principality Stadium manager, said: "The WRU, Principality Stadium and South Wales Police condemns any behaviour of this kind, and the individual will be issued with a lifetime ban from buying any tickets from the WRU for rugby events held at Principality Stadium.  

"We were deeply disappointed to discover the individual is a registered player and member of a rugby club; and the WRU are currently investigating this as a Code of Conduct breach. 

"I'd like to thank the pitch side stewards and on pitch security team who acted swiftly stopping the individual and escorting them from the field of play.

"For more than 20 years this stadium has been revered across the world for its unique atmosphere and game day experience.

"It's extremely disappointing to think that by recent events the traditional game day experience is under threat and that we might be forced to look at additional measures that will impact on the fan experience in future."

Wayne Pivac said he did not know if Wales would have scored had the spectator not invaded the pitch.When asked about the incident, Wales' head coach Pivac said: “Look, I don’t know. We just saw a two-versus-one type situation forming up.

"You don’t want to see that in the game. It’s very disappointing that happened, but there was nothing the officials could do about that."Pressed on whether Wales might have scored a try, Pivac added: “I don’t know. I don’t know.

“At the time, I thought, ‘here we go’. We had a one-man advantage. I haven’t had a chance to speak to the players.

“They might have been distracted, but there wasn’t much more the officials could have done. They’ve got to deal with that the way they did."South Africa ultimately ended a run of four successive away defeats against Wales as they claimed a first win in Cardiff since 2013.