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SA celebrate winning the Freedom Cup after the Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Cape Town Stadium on September 7. Picture: GALLO IMAGES/ANTON GEYSER
Undeterred by set piece malfunction, the Springboks rolled up their sleeves in defence to record a hard-earned 18-12 victory over the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
They bagged the long elusive Freedom Cup and put one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy in the process. Though they were technically short of their lofty standards in the set pieces, they tackled other areas with aplomb.
The Boks shut out the All Blacks who went try-less for the first time since losing to Ireland on their northern hemisphere tour in 2018.
It also helped that All Blacks flyhalf Damian McKenzie missed three kicks from the tee in the second half. It will no doubt draw more questions about his suitability as the team’s game-driving flyhalf.
The Boks stoutly defended their try line in the face of wave upon wave of New Zealand attacks. Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende and Eben Etzebeth stood tall.
Kolisi, who thumbed his nose at the fracture he suffered last weekend, delivered an inspired performance, with the Trojan-like Du Toit spreading his influence across the field. His line-out steal at the end of the game allowed Ruan Nortjé to boot the ball into touch to seal the win.
The line-out ironically was one of the areas in which the Boks came up short against opponents who feverishly contested that facet. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus conceded the visitors had done their homework in that area.
“I think it was just overthrows by the hooker,” he said. “Sometimes they didn’t go up and we overthrew. It was a timing issue. We have to understand a guy like Ruan [Nortjé], this was just his fourth Test, his second against New Zealand. He had a rough one to start and to call it [the line-outs]. He had Pieter-Steph with him. This week was solely on him and he would have learnt a lot. The All Blacks did their homework. Our hookers were under pressure.”
His appraisal of the scrum and the breakdowns weren’t exactly upbeat either. “In the first two we dominated but they came back and we were under the pump. The area where they beat us was the breakdown. We were totally second best. They outshone us,” Erasmus admitted.
The Boks were 9-3 down at halftime but showed great resolve to claw their way back. Their bench again made the desired impact.
“The players were a bit too emotional when we started. We were on it, but we weren’t accurate. After halftime, we calmed a little and played a bit better.”
Hooker Malcolm Marx delivered another top-drawer performance and proved instrumental in the try that captain Kolisi scored in the second half. Marx later delivered the decisive score when he peeled off the back of a maul and successfully charged for the corner.
Kolisi’s performance was warrior-like. His participation was in doubt after he suffered a nose fracture at Ellis Park but he was brave and fearless against fired-up opponents.
“The coach gave me a chance when I said that I’m OK, so I had to prove it. I couldn’t go out halfheartedly. No-one’s going to celebrate you if, when you play, you don’t go flat out. I know that there’s Kwagga [Smith] and Marco [van Staden], who want this opportunity.”
Kolisi noted the significance of the win. The Boks have achieved much over the past five years but their latest triumph ranks high with the captain.
“This was really big for us. We spoke about it. After the World Cup final, this was the biggest game for us as a group. I’m so happy for guys like Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], to be coming in, into games like this, Canan [Moodie] also coming back from injury. We are really happy as a group.”
The Boks will take three days off before regrouping for their trip to Argentina where a much-changed line-up will do duty. The Boks round off their Rugby Championship commitments against Los Pumas in Mbombela at end-September.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Determined defence helps Boks down Kiwis
Undeterred by set piece malfunction, the Springboks rolled up their sleeves in defence to record a hard-earned 18-12 victory over the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
They bagged the long elusive Freedom Cup and put one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy in the process. Though they were technically short of their lofty standards in the set pieces, they tackled other areas with aplomb.
The Boks shut out the All Blacks who went try-less for the first time since losing to Ireland on their northern hemisphere tour in 2018.
It also helped that All Blacks flyhalf Damian McKenzie missed three kicks from the tee in the second half. It will no doubt draw more questions about his suitability as the team’s game-driving flyhalf.
The Boks stoutly defended their try line in the face of wave upon wave of New Zealand attacks. Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende and Eben Etzebeth stood tall.
Kolisi, who thumbed his nose at the fracture he suffered last weekend, delivered an inspired performance, with the Trojan-like Du Toit spreading his influence across the field. His line-out steal at the end of the game allowed Ruan Nortjé to boot the ball into touch to seal the win.
The line-out ironically was one of the areas in which the Boks came up short against opponents who feverishly contested that facet. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus conceded the visitors had done their homework in that area.
“I think it was just overthrows by the hooker,” he said. “Sometimes they didn’t go up and we overthrew. It was a timing issue. We have to understand a guy like Ruan [Nortjé], this was just his fourth Test, his second against New Zealand. He had a rough one to start and to call it [the line-outs]. He had Pieter-Steph with him. This week was solely on him and he would have learnt a lot. The All Blacks did their homework. Our hookers were under pressure.”
His appraisal of the scrum and the breakdowns weren’t exactly upbeat either. “In the first two we dominated but they came back and we were under the pump. The area where they beat us was the breakdown. We were totally second best. They outshone us,” Erasmus admitted.
The Boks were 9-3 down at halftime but showed great resolve to claw their way back. Their bench again made the desired impact.
“The players were a bit too emotional when we started. We were on it, but we weren’t accurate. After halftime, we calmed a little and played a bit better.”
Hooker Malcolm Marx delivered another top-drawer performance and proved instrumental in the try that captain Kolisi scored in the second half. Marx later delivered the decisive score when he peeled off the back of a maul and successfully charged for the corner.
Kolisi’s performance was warrior-like. His participation was in doubt after he suffered a nose fracture at Ellis Park but he was brave and fearless against fired-up opponents.
“The coach gave me a chance when I said that I’m OK, so I had to prove it. I couldn’t go out halfheartedly. No-one’s going to celebrate you if, when you play, you don’t go flat out. I know that there’s Kwagga [Smith] and Marco [van Staden], who want this opportunity.”
Kolisi noted the significance of the win. The Boks have achieved much over the past five years but their latest triumph ranks high with the captain.
“This was really big for us. We spoke about it. After the World Cup final, this was the biggest game for us as a group. I’m so happy for guys like Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], to be coming in, into games like this, Canan [Moodie] also coming back from injury. We are really happy as a group.”
The Boks will take three days off before regrouping for their trip to Argentina where a much-changed line-up will do duty. The Boks round off their Rugby Championship commitments against Los Pumas in Mbombela at end-September.
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