Boks weather the storm to pummel England
MATCH REPORT: The Springboks scored seven tries on their way to a 45-21 bonus-point win over England in their Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Rassie Erasmus’ side raced to a 17-0 lead after 12 minutes before England fought back.
After dominating possession, the visitors were only three points behind at the break.
However, the Boks had too much energy and momentum, and they eventually scored four tries in the second 40 to take the game away from Steve Borthwick’s side.
The Springboks also had to make some big late changes ahead of the showdown. Captain Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth were forced to withdraw from the matchday 23, which meant that Paul de Villiers and Cameron Hanekom started the match.
Pieter-Steph du Toit, who moved to the second row, took over the captaincy.
Meanwhile, England’s George Furbank was ruled out through illness, with Marcus Smith replacing him in the side and Henry Slade coming onto the replacements bench.
It was an emphatic start for the home side with Thomas du Toit crashing over a five-pointer from close range after a swift backline move from a line-out.
The South African fans were on their feet a few minutes later after Cheslin Kolbe stepped his way over the tryline, and it all started from a powerful run by Ox Nche down the middle of the field.
With momentum on their side, there was no stopping the Boks, and after sustained pressure and more accurate passing by Manie Libbok out wide, Kurt-Lee Arendse went over for his team’s third try inside 12 minutes to make it 17-0.
Not to be outdone, the English finally got some ball in their hands and with some patience and energy and multiple phases, captain Jamie George stretched over the Bok tryline in the 17th minute. However, the score was disallowed for offside.
The visitors were given some hope in the 29th minute when Arendse was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.
England eventually got that first try with Ellis Genge, who bulldozed his way over the tryline after a quick-tap penalty.
A big moment came just before the break when George Martin pummelled his way through two Bok defenders to score in the corner.
Fin Smith landed his second conversion, and at half-time, South Africa only had a three-point lead.
The Boks started the second period well and they were rewarded for their patience with ball in hand when Grant Williams sniped through a gap to score his side’s bonus-point try in the 45th minute. Kolbe made it two conversions out of four for a 10-point lead.
A Jesse Kriel try in the 57th minute stretched that lead out in the 57th minute before Kolbe added another two points.
With 12 minutes left, England pulled seven back when Alex Coles found his way to the tryline with Fin Smith converting the score.
However, the visitors suffered two setbacks in quick succession when Tommy Freeman (high tackle) and Guy Pepper (early tackle) were given yellow cards.
Not long after that, the game was effectively put to bed with Malcolm Marx going over for a try after a powerful driving maul.
Ben-Jason Dixon also rubbed salt into England’s wounds by scoring his team’s seventh try before the end.
Player of the match: Cheslin Kolbe was elusive and kept England on their toes. Manie Libbok also showed his pedigree on attack. However, our award has to go to Damian Willemse, who was a rock at fullback. He was brilliant under the high ball, and his kicking game was effective. He was also good on attack when he joined the line.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: T Du Toit, Kolbe, Arendse, Williams, Kriel, Marx, Dixon
Cons: Kolbe 5
For England:
Tries: Genge, Martin, Coles
Cons: F Smith 3
Yellow cards: Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa, 29′ – cynical play, deliberate knock-on); Tommy Freeman (England, 71′ – foul play, high tackle); Guy Pepper (England, 72′ – cynical play, early tackle
Teams:
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Cameron Hanekom, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph Du Toit, 3 Thomas Du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Canan Moodie.
England: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie,17 Beno Obano, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Henry Slade.
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland) & Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
