1
Springboks make a statement with dominant win over All Blacks
By Finn Morton
No two Tests are ever the same in international rugby. The All Blacks dominated the Boks in Auckland last month, but it was a very different story at Twickenham on Friday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tries to Siya Kolisi and Kurt Lee-Arendse saw the Boks taking a commanding lead into the break, and this continued throughout the second term as they ran away with a 35-7 win.
The All Blacksā impressive unbeaten run comes to an end at the hands of their rivals, while the Springboks can take plenty of confidence into the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Walking into the legendary venue before the Test, it was clear who the majority of fans were here to see. There was plenty of green around the streets of Twickenham, and even a mix of braai and drinks.
If you closed your eyes, even for a moment, you were practically transported to the streets of Johannesburg before a Test at Ellis Park. This was a Springboks home Test, even if it wasnāt.
The anticipation for another instalment of this enthralling rivalry continued to build and build as the clock continued to tick ever closer to 7.30 pm. Thousands flocked the stands at Twickenham, and they couldnāt wait.
As the teams made their way out on the hallowed turf at Twickenham, the noise that echoed throughout the stadium was incredible. It gave this writer goosebumps.
ADVERTISEMENT
After the anthems and a passionate rendition of Kapa O Pango from the All Blacks, the Test was finally here. The waiting was all but over.
All Blacks fullback Beauden Barrett kicked the ball high into the London sky as the Test got underway on Friday evening.
Things started slow, if only for a while, as both teams began to ease their way into the Test ā but one of them, clearly, did that better than the other.
It was all the Springboks throughout the first half of the Test. The All Blacks were in survival mode, but did enough to hang on ā for a while, at least.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following a series of penalties from the New Zealanders, which saw Scott Barrett and Sam Cane sent to the sin bin, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
Just as it was during their disastrous run of losses last year, poor discipline and errors were the All Blacksā Achilles heel. Against a team like the Springboks, youāll be made to pay.
Midfielder Jordie Barrett threw an intercept in the 34th minute, and Kurt Lee-Arendse reaped the rewards. The wing scored under the sticks to give the Boks a commanding 14-nil advantage.
But the worst was yet to come.
Lock Scott Barrett was sent to the sin bin for a needless high tackle on a defenceless Dane Vermeulen, and two yellows make a red. Barrettās night was done, and the All Blacks were in trouble.
Wing Will Jordan gave the All Blacks a glimmer of hope though with a try on the stroke of half-time, only for the TMO to dismiss the score for a knock-on.
The All Blacks were held to zero, and were down to 14 men. As for the Boks, they were playing some of their best rugby since maybe the 2019 World Cup.
The good times continued to roll after the break for the Boks, with hooker Malcolm Marx scoring about a minute into the second term.
Beauden Barrett kicked a cross-field kick, inside his 22 too, directly into touch on the full. The Boks, and Marx, made the most of their opportunity to strike.
Another Beauden Barrett error, this time on the defensive side of the ball, almost saw Boks centre Canan Moodie score a brilliant solo try. Moodie danced around Barrett, with ease, and had the pace to beat covering defenders to the line
But the score was called back by the TMO. New Zealanders could breathe a sigh of relief, if only for a bit. The Springboks continued to launch waves of attacking pressure.
But the Springboks sacrificed their one-man advantage with flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit leaving the field after a high tackle on All Blacks captain Sam Cane. Du Toitās yellow card went under review, though, but remained unchanged.
It didnāt trouble the Boks, though, with replacement Bongi Mbonambi scoring before du Toit returned to the field. The raced out to a 28-nil lead with 20 minutes to play.
Nobody saw that coming, and the attacking onslaught wasnāt over either.
Replacement Kwagga Smith scored with just over 10 minutes to play, and that sent the Boks fans into a frenzy. This was probably their best win over the All Blacks ever.
It was enough for some New Zealand fans as they began to make their way for the exit.
Replacement Cam Roigard scored a brilliant solo try which saw the All Blacks avoid ānaughtā for the first time in quite some time.
In front of a crowd of more than 80,000 people, the Springboks made a statement ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
The Springboks "hammered" the All Blacks. Can the All Blacks recover? No, unless our forwards can manage to find some ticker.
Cam Roiguard must start. He is what Aaron Smith isn't. An extra loose forward. France will slaughter us with DUPONT unless we give Roiguard a chance.
There was an earie silence after the match between my brothers and I. We were left breathless by the Boks display. I have never seen an AB side so demolished and clueless. And I've watched them for the last 50 odd years. We have huge respect for the AB'S. The Boks showed other teams how to beat the AB's. The question is.. Can they? No team in the world can match our forwards and the bench. What delighted me most is that our backs are showing speed, innovation and flair.
The WC is a few weeks away and a completely different beast.
Anything can happen. The Boks will have to pull out all the stops to win it.
And the AB's will be back. They are too good a side.
Boks vs AB's final.
Ben? Hello, Ben? Are you there? Wipe away the tears. Thereās some humble pie waiting for youā¦
Ugh, that last story made me cringe. Please donāt think weāre all like him.
āFood poisoningā was the original excuse, here chewing the popcorn waiting for the new excuseš¤£
Classic Chris.
Bok fans crowing and gloating like they have won the RWC again already and rubbishing the opposition is a pretty poor reflection of their classy team.
Defending classlessness because "other people do it" is weak. Fact is, ABs record against SA is still around 60/40 in AB favour and excuses for loutish behaviour doesn't make you superior in either in behaviour OR in the records. Additionally, true fans can distinguish between the rabble-rants and informed comments and don't have to get down to the lowest level.
What goes around comes around. Suck it up?
You have just explained in a nutshell Old Boy.
"Bok fans". Nobody is rubbishing the opposition Old Boy. there seems to be a trend to denigrate Springbok supporters as lowlife. I suggest you go and read the derogatory posts about the Boks over the past few weeks and perhaps understand that in rugby as in every other aspect of life if you want to deal it out you had better be prepared to get it back. I have had to deal with Kiwi supporters on this site not just rubbishing the SA rugby team but describing my country as a hell hole. Unfortunately laptop warriors from all over the world are not of the best quality human beings.
Like I said, Barrett just can't help himself.
He should cop a ban then so he can learn like his mates Owen and Vunipola.
Sam cane is a major liability with his discipline hes always yellow carded when it gets tough and should not be our captain either
Scooter has always had ill discipline for bad technique always hitting someones head and looks like we definitely wont get past the quarters unfortunately at this rate
Only positive cam roigard should be starting 9 or at least 2nd
Roigard was the one piece of light ion the blackness. He is going to be one for the future. I wonder how many times him and Moodie will face each other in the future. Something to look forward to.
Did the ABs revert to an old game plan? I saw an old fashioned attacking structure which is very vulnerable to the Boks' excellent rush defence. Hardly any AB kicking behind like in Auckland.
But in any event, the Boks were clearly superior and will take a lot out of that win.
I have no idea what that game plan was but they can burn it. Unfortunately bore no semblance to the previous game but then I guess whatever they were trying to execute they just couldnāt, cause the Boks were too good. The kicking, for one thing, was abysmal.
Of course they will not exposed their game plans ..it like the All Blacks that won RWC 1987
I was hoping for 57-0 haha. That was a proper hiding š
Excellent game, Boks. Makes the RWC even more intriguing. Itās going to be interesting to see how our ABs play against France. Hopefully being completely dismantled like this will mean we donāt play like that again š
Jen, as a South African who has long respected and may I say even feared the ABs - the next time we meet them I will have my heart in my mouth all over again. You will be back.
The French must be feeling chipper.
I sincerely hope the French aren't naive enough to think, they've got this one in the bag. The surest way to dig one's own grave.
Don't get complacent
Not many teams in history could field a total second pack after halftime and still dominate, even with the AB ine man down. Good showing. Now we just need 7 more like this.
congratulations springbok and fans! comprehensive beating that was... but it looked to me like last time out ABs showed a lot and Boks showed not much and got thumped, this time Boks showed lots and ABs played very limited and got VERY thumped! who showed more? and who's more is most when all cards are on the table!
Don't kid yourself. The Boks got beat because the AB's were better. The AB's got beat because the Boks were better. Eight changes from the Bok side that got beat three changes from the AB side that beat them. Don't overthink it Sebbie.
All we showed is that we can bully them upfront
We saw something rather special tonight, looks like the Boks have peaked and gelled at the perfect time. The Bomb squad were huge and made the Abs scrum look quite soft. Moodie is going to be one of our all time best players, his ability to change defense into attack is quite outstanding.....
Your pack was great and I was groaning a fair bit in anticipation of the scrums. I did start wondering if we were going to score any points at all, or if the Boks were going to hit 40-something points. Hopefully your Boks have helped us learn some lessons from this steamrolling.
Not in my wildest dreams did I expect an utter rout like this. I was anxious about Moodie at 13. Boy how was I wrong!
It occurs to me, that I wouldn't want to be the French right now. The ABs are going to take it out on them big time. They're absolutely predatory after a loss. And a loss like this against their biggest rival ... yikes. They will be eating raw liver for two weeks straight.
Nah, these kiwis are too squeamish to eat offal.
Hahaha and get thumped again by a big French pack š
Hahaha
I'm looking forward to read Ben Smith's take on the match. Surely, the ABs were the far superior side, and if it wasn't for the cards, they'd have won 100-0.
RugbyPass, give us our favorite entertainer!
Hahaha yes Ben Smith this one is for you lol. His never-ending anti-Bok spew makes a win like this all the more enjoyable.
Yeah nah, the ref will get blamed and we'll hear the same sad old chestnut about food poisoning or some rubbish.
š totally, his next article will be something special
š¤£
ABs beaten all over the park. SA gelling for RWC defense and will take some stopping - despite leaving a lot of points on the field in this game. I thought the match officials were very intrusive and micro-managed the hell out the game. ABs forwards are back to early 2022 standards on that performance and France especially will have taken a lot of notes.
Agree with your comments, it's all about the referee - everything ended up as a penalty with very long advantages for both sides. It's called the Rassie effect.
Other than giving the ABs too many warnings officials were on point
Don't think anyone has beaten the ABs quite so badly, as they have been today. Beating them is an achievement in itself- one that not many teams have savoured.
Wowza, canāt wait for foolish Ben Smithās commentary on this.
Also, high marks to the bunker for showing some Delphic rationality about Peteās yellow. That TMO greatly desired to make the game about his mavenic perception. What a unexceptional idiot.