Cape Town — It wasn’t quite the “thrashing” that some supporters were expecting, but the Springboks produced their best performance of 2022 in dispatching the All Blacks 26-10 at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday night.
And considering the fact that the world champions haven’t beaten their great rivals in South Africa since 2014, it is a triumph that will be celebrated well into the night by Siya Kolisi and his team.
Not to be tonight. See you next week @Springboks #RSAvNZL 🇿🇦🇳🇿 #TRC2022 pic.twitter.com/YJvBW594Bn
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) August 6, 2022
There were many more positives from this display compared to the three-Test series against Wales in July.
The ingenuity shown by the backline was the most significant development for the South Africans, after coach Jacques Nienaber spoke in recent weeks about growing the Bok game during the Rugby Championship.
Where the Boks were hesitant at times — especially on attack — against the Welsh, they were evidently more determined to put pressure on the opposition with ball-in-hand against the Kiwis.
They varied their play cleverly between the kicking game and holding onto possession, and managed to get good width on their attacking shape throughout.
Wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Makazole Mapimpi were brought into the game numerous times, whether through the ball being passed their way or them retrieving pinpoint up-and-unders from Handre Pollard and Jaden Hendrikse — who replaced Faf de Klerk in the opening minute when the Bok No 9’s head made solid contact with All Black wing Caleb Clarke’s knee.
Lukhanyo Am was the standout Bok back on the night, and his offload in the tackle to Arendse for the only try of the Test was one for the highlight reel.
Am and centre Damian de Allende dovetailed well between carrying the ball up the middle and creating space for the back-three, while fullback Damian Willemse also enjoyed some pleasing moments in general play.
Arendse proved that he was a worthy replacement for the injured Cheslin Kolbe as he was a threat with ball-in-hand, chased the kicks with ferocity and stood strong on defence as well — even bringing down the giant Clarke on a few occasions.
His touchdown also emulated Kolbe’s achievement of scoring his first Test try in his second match against the All Blacks, so it was a real pity that he had to be red-carded just before the end for taking Beauden Barrett out in the air.
Hendrikse should also be commended for a hard-working display after having to replace De Klerk as early as the first minute. The Sharks halfback generated good rhythm from the breakdowns and gave Pollard quick front-foot ball to work with.
All of the above, of course, came on the back of a powerful display from the forwards. Yes, the Kiwis are missing a number of stalwarts such as Brodie Retallick and Joe Moody, but the Boks still had to go out and do the job.
The front row of Trevor Nyakane, Malcolm Marx and Frans Malherbe were on top in the scrums, with Marx in particular producing a typically belligerent display in his 50th Test by winning breakdown penalties, carrying strongly at close quarters and finding his lineout jumpers.
The All Blacks hardly fired a shot in anger, and battled to bring in their dangerous runners such as Clarke and Rieko Ioane because their pack were on the back foot.
𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐅𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 ✈
🇿🇦 Willie le Roux seals it for the Springboks as they run out 26-10 victors over New Zealand 🏉 pic.twitter.com/GMKHVEKZ7T
Clarke was well-marked whenever he got the ball, while halfbacks Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett were unable to come up with something special to unlock the Bok defence.
The two areas that Nienaber will be a bit concerned about was how easily the All Blacks stopped the Bok driving maul off the lineouts, while the home side should also have earned more reward from all those entries into the Kiwis’ 22.
But for now, Boks can rejoice after a convincing victory, while in the opposition camp, All Black coach Ian Foster’s troubled tenure may finally be coming to an end.
Points-Scorers
Springboks 26 – Tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Willie le Roux. Conversions: Handre Pollard (2). Penalties: Pollard (3). Drop goal: Pollard (1).
All Blacks 10 – Try: Shannon Frizell. Conversion: Richie Mo’unga (1). Penalty: Jordie Barrett (1).
IOL Sport