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Watch: Will Jordan scores scintillating try to open Springboks clash

(Photo / Twitter)

The anticipation surrounding the 100th test between the All Blacks and Springboks reached a climax come kick-off in Townsville on Saturday, and fans were treated to a try worthy of such hype inside the first three minutes.

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A riveting opening passage of play on a hard, dry track at Queensland Country Bank Stadium was dominated by kicking between both teams, but the All Blacks stated their intent to play a high-tempo game by opting to keep the ball in play via two quick lineouts.

That attacking intent was rewarded after almost three minutes of play when the All Blacks struck first through Will Jordan following a stellar run by hooker Codie Taylor.

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Looking to attack from the middle of the park, first-five Beauden Barrett threw a wild pass from left to right that skidded along the ground and into the clutches of the backtracking Taylor.

The 30-year-old then ran sideways, escaping the grasp of South African duo Faf de Klerk and Kwagge Smith before turning on a dime to bolt past lock Lood de Jager.

That instigated a line break by Taylor, who surged up the middle of the park to eat up 20 metres and enter Springboks territory.

From there, he was faced with a one-on-one situation with Springboks first-five Handre Pollard just past halfway, but managed to pick out Jordan with a crisp pass on his outside.

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The young speedster had nothing but pasture between him and the tryline, but a rapid chase by Springboks fullback Willie le Roux meant Jordan had to maintain full speed for the entirety of his run.

However, the 23-year-old had enough gas in the tank to finish off the sweeping move, which brought an end to an enthralling opening passage of play.

Despite an immediate hit back by the Springboks via wing Sbu Nkosi, the All Blacks managed to hold a 13-11 lead at half-time thanks to the boot of Jordie Barrett.

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J
JW 14 minutes ago
Scott Robertson explains the new halves pairing for the All Blacks ahead of France

More indecision and excuses from Razor.


You've given a spot at 6 to Finau whom you haven't even had the courage to use off the bench in the last two games. Now the young enforcer is going into a big much with no rugby, we should expect a similar result to how Aumua struggled to impact a game after he'd hardly been given any chances of the bench either.


Weve now dropped a back three player who also wasn't even given any game time off the bench for someone coming in cold when they really need to have been playing constantly to perform at their best. There are just so many better pictures that should have been present rather than this mickey mouse selection.


I really hope Finau can overcome this, it won't be the first time he's had to. How is the bench even made up? Could you not just have included these changes in the article as well? I actually like BB coming back in, it highlights how courageous he is after sitting out through another concussion that could just as easily sent him back into months of symptoms again.


Dmac was also off his game last week, as was Ratima, with the poor platform Razor and his team have been setting the players up with. He needs to freedom to clear his mind from the clutter that saw him make so many bad decisions last week. It will still probably be a net loss for the team performance not having him on from the start but it should be better for them in the long run if he's allowed to just come on late and play his game trying to claw things back for the team.


With Roigard starting that might prove an outlet for the team to actually get on top first however. Along with Ardie busting a gut in his new role and emptying the tank by halftime, and being replaced by another new star, might mean that Dmac is just icing on the cake at the end.

12 Go to comments
F
Flankly 40 minutes ago
Jake White: If I was England coach, I’d have been livid

I am not an England fan, but still very disappointed at what Borthwick is serving up. Regardless of winning or losing, they should be executing the basics at a world class level. That was the reason they replaced Eddie with Steve. After two years England has not built the solid foundations that the RFU were presumably after. Its hard to see it as anything other than a coaching problem.


Having said that I really hope that Rassie has got his team fired up for the game. The Boks at maximum intensity and with no crises (eg red cards) would be expected to win this game. But it does not take much reduction in pressure for Bok teams to lose. The Boks lose when complacency sets in.


On Felix Jones, my guess is that they can't agree on a non-compete so they kept him on payroll for the duration of the Nov tests. The risk was that he would be hired by Rassie or Razor prior to the tests.


As relates to law tweaking, it feels like WR are more comfortable discussing changes in laws than insisting on implementation. For my money the biggest thing they could do is to be strict and consistent in officiating ruck behavior. In every game we see flopping, lazy lying, clearing of unbound players, making plays while off your feet, delays in placing the ball, side entry, offside line infringements, and similar nonsense. It's really really bad, and the WR attitude seems to be that we should turn a blind eye in pursuit of "flowing rugby". In truth it's just boring, because it randomizes the outcome.

9 Go to comments
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