Debutants shine as Boks see off spirited Georgia

MATCH REPORT: The Springboks wrapped up their July Test series with a 55-10 victory over Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts outscored their opponents by nine tries to one during the 80 minutes, but it was a scrappy and inconsistent performance for large periods of the match.

The Springboks also entered the match with three debutants in the form of front rowers Neethling Fouché, Marnus van der Merwe, and Boan Venter, and they can be proud of their performances.

They dominated the scrums before it went a bit pear-shaped when the veterans came off the bench in the second half.

Venter opened the scoring with a try before hooker Marnus van der Merwe got a brace.

Wing Edwill van der Merwe also scored two five-pointers, while lock Ruan Nortje produced a man-of-the-match performance.

Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had an off day with the boot as he only landed one of his five conversion attempts.

The visitors were pumped up for the occasion, and they looked really good with ball in hand in the opening few minutes.

They silenced the crowd in the third minute when hooker Vano Karkadze powered his way over the tryline from a driving maul.

Luka Matkava added the extra two points with the conversion.

The Springboks got more of the ball after that, and the pressure proved to be too much for Georgia with debutant Venter crashing over for a try from close range.

A few minutes later, Marnus van der Merwe found his way to the tryline after a powerful driving maul.

After weathering a brief Georgian surge, the Boks were in for their third try and it was sparked by Grant Williams.

The scrumhalf found acres of space before the ball was spread through the hands with Canan Moodie on hand to score a great five-pointer in the corner.

Georgia stayed in touch with a three-pointer from Matkava in the 29th minute.

With things not going according to plan in open play, the Boks reverted to their mauling and they were rewarded in the 32nd minute when Marnus van der Merwe went over for his second try.

The Boks dominated the opening stages of the second half.  They got their fourth try in the 46th minute when Edwill van der Merwe was put into space to race away to the tryline

Rassie Erasmus’ side were in again 10 minutes later when replacement Damian Willemse weaved his way through the Georgian defence after an attacking play from a scrum.

As the match entered the closing stages, more space emerged and the Boks added another three tries to their tally with Edwill van der Merwe getting his second before Kurt-Lee Arendse and Hande Pollard added their names to the scoresheet.

Man of the match: It will be a day to remember for hooker Marnus van der Merwe. The debutant scored two tries in the and he also made his presence felt at the breakdowns. However, the award goes to lock Ruan Nortje, who produced an industrious performance. He was just everywhere and he carried the ball like a man possessed.

Moment of the match. There were a few and it involved the debutants. Whether it was dominating the scrums or scoring tries, they had a good day.

Villain: No one.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries: Venter, M van der Merwe 2, Moodie, E van der Merwe 2, Willemse, Arendse, Pollard
Cons: Feinburg-Mngomezulu, Pollard 4

For Georgia:
Try: Karkadze
Con: Matkava
Pen: Matkava

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Cobus Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian Willemse.

Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 12 Giorig Kveseladze,11 Alexander Todua, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhandidze, 8 Ilia Spanderashvili, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 5 Vladimer Chachanidze, 4 Mikheil Babunashvili, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Vano Karkadze, 1 Giorgi Akhaladze.
Replacements: 16 Irakli Kvatadze, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Demur Epremeidze, 20 Sando Mamamtavrishvili, 21 Tornike Jalagonia, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Tornike Kakhoidze

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)