Late Bok rally seals the deal
South Africa rallied to score three tries in the last 10 minutes to record a bonus-point 28-10 win over Australia in their Rugby Championship match at Newlands on Saturday.
All's well, according to Shakespeare, that ends well. For South Africa it ended well, but it is doubtful if that made everything well.
In fact till the last ten minutes of the 80-minute match it was dull, and the 44 959 crowd found entertainment in Mexican waves and the occasional chance to growl 'Beast' when Tendai Mtawarira got the ball.
They did not often growl because before the endgame the Springboks had little ball.
Then those last 10 minutes. with three tries and 20 points, made for a memorable ending that masked entirely the other 70 minutes, and overshadowed the Wallabies' 10 points in two minutes, which suggests that 30 points out of 38 were scored in 12 minutes – 75 percent of the points in 15 percent of the time..
It was clear from the start that the Springboks' intentions were to score tries, that they wanted to get the ball but they found things like catching and passing difficult amongst other fundamental processes.
They had chances to play quickly but it would fizzle out on a handling error or a turnover.
The Wallabies on the other hand were able to enjoy long passages of phases, some of which almost went forward.
Handré Pollard kicked off for South Africa and the Springboks went on the attack – a promising attack of 18 phases till Scott Fardy won a turnover. Australia kicked and the Springboks attacked again with phases till a knock-on put paid to that.
The Wallabies got onto the attack following a speedy dart by Nick Phipps on the blind side, the Springboks were penalised at a tackle and Bernard Foley missed an easy kick, almost as easy as the one Patrick Lambie missed in the second half – not that the weather was inclement.
A Willie le Roux grubber on the right was chased by Cornal Hendricks and nearly produced a try. It produced a five-metre line-out to the Springboks which produced another penalty (against Nick Phipps) which produced another five-metre line-out. This time the Springbok maul plodded powerfully over for a try credited to Marcell Coetzee. 5-0 after 12 minutes.
The Wallabies kicked off cleverly as they usually do but Oupa Mohoje was cleverer than they were and caught it with a spectacular leap, but there followed a period of Wallaby attack – first with a run down the right on an overlap by Tevita Kuridrani who kicked ahead, but Le Roux caught the ball and claimed a mark. Then a horrible pass by Francois Hougaard produced a Wallaby attack and it was only a magnificent tackle by Hougaard on Joe Tomane that prevented a try.
It was not a match of many penalties at all – 15 in all, divided 11-4 in the favour of the Springboks. But one against Adriaan Strauss for tackling Adam Ashley-Cooper who did not have the ball, slap in front of the posts, 15 metres from the line enabled Foley to bring the score to 5-3 to the Springboks after 25 minutes. Two minutes later the Wallabies led 10-5.
The try was a splendid, long-range score from the kick-off as Kuridrani shrugged off a tackling duo of Pollard and Habana and raced ahead before passing to Adam Ashley-Cooper who just got over in the corner in a rough Hougaard tackle. Foley converted from touch and the Wallabies led 10-5 after 27 minutes.
Habana went off for a concussion test for he had clashed heads with Pollard and JP Pietersen took his place.
The Wallabies attacked again after this and were getting closer till the Springboks won a turnover and sent the ball wide where they had a two-on-one situation, kiboshed by a knock-on. Then Adriaan Strauss forced his way ahead and passed a short pass inside to Pietersen who had a pretty open road to the line, but knocked on.
The Springboks had a simple penalty in front of the posts but opted for a five-metre line-out and made a maul but the ball squirted out of the side of the maul and the Wallabies cleared.
The half ended with the Springboks on the attack but the Wallabies ahead 10-5.
Pietersen came out for Habana and James Horwill for Rob Simmonds at the start of the second half.
The Springboks scored first in the second half when Pollard had an easy tackle penalty. 10-8 after 44 minutes.
The Springboks had a lucky escape. Pollard failed to find touch from a penalty and, shades of Perth, the Wallabies came racing back. The Springboks won the ball but Michael Hooper charged down Pollard's kick not far from his line. The ball was scampering for the line with Wallabies eager to get the score. Indeed they went over but then the referee and the TMO discussed an incident in the lead-up to the 'try', and sure enough there was Sekope Kepu manhandling Pollard and instead of getting a try, the Wallabies were penalised.
The Wallabies attacked again after a break by Kuridrani but after that they withdrew into the trenches.
The half was one of many changes as both sides used up all their replacements, and the last replacement was Cobus Reinach with three minutes to go, making his debut on the same ground as his late father did in 1986. He had a short time on the field but a longer run down the right than his father had in the whole of the 1986 match.
One of the changes was Bakkies Botha for Duane Vermeulen. Vermeulen had started the match with great force but took a hurtful knock in the first half and played more gingerly after that. Eventually he went off and an eager Bakkies bounded on. Botha went to lock while Victor Matfield moved to flank and Schalk Burger, on for Mohoje, went to No.8. Say what you like, the changes worked, for now the Springboks took control and Wallaby resistance shrank and then crumbled.
Lambie missed a simple penalty. Israel Folau just beat Le Roux to a ball in in-goal. The Springboks attacked from a drop-out and Hendricks was close. The Springboks went through phases and Lambie goaled a drop. 11-10 after 70 minutes.
Jan Serfontein had a magnificent break of some 30 metres and gave to Hendricks who went on a mazy run to within 10 metres of the goal-line. The Wallabies won a turnover but Hooper knocked the ball on to Lambie who gave to Bismarck du Plessis who cut back and fed his captain, and Jean de Villiers dived over in the right corner. 16-10 after 74 minutes.
Eben Etzebeth caught the kick-off and, fater Lambie had kicked a rolling touch, the Wallabies overthrew the line-out. Schalk Burger got the ball at the tail and the Springboks went wide left. where Reinach found Lambie who beat five Wallabies as he scored. 21-10 and a minute to play and a young man said: "We could get a bonus point", and I admired the optimism of youth. But, lo and behold, there was Reinach racing more than 50 metres down the right as the final siren sounded. The Springboks went left with two remarkable passes by Burger, the first through his legs to Bismarck du Plessis, the second, more orthodox, to to Matfield who gave a short pass to De Villiers who scored in the corner. From touch Lambie goaled.
Jean de Villiers, such a fine player, captain and man, has apparently intimated that this would be his last match at Newlands. What a way to go – with two tries in the last six minutes of his last match on this great ground that his father had graced before him – and his parents were there to see it.
Man of the Match: Willie le Roux was much better, Francois Hougaard proved that he is a good footballer but not perhaps a scrumhalf, Marcell Coetzee was non-stop bravery but still not able to pass and Adriaan Strauss did all things so well but our Man of the Match is Jan Serfontein – magnificent on defence when it was time to defend and sublime on the attack when there was a chance.
Moment of the Match: Cobus Reinach's run down the right that ended with Jean de Villiers's second try – not just for sentimental reasons for it was a symnbol of complete Springbok domination.
Villain of the Match: Nobody.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Coetzee, De Villiers 2, Lambie
Con: Lambie
Pen: Pollard
DG: Lambie
For Australia:
Try: Ashley-Cooper
Con: Foley
Pen: Foley
Teams
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nic White, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
By Paul Dobson at Newlands
