The Springboks confirmed the rude health they are in heading into the Rugby World Cup by ending the warmup phase with a smashing record 35-7 win over their old rivals New Zealand in front of a packed Twickenham in London on Friday night.
Smashing is the apt expression as the All Blacks were smashed into submission in a first half in which, as 1995 World Cup winner and Supersport television analyst Joel Stransky put it, could have been 35-0 to the reigning world champions rather than the 14-0 that it was.?From the off the All Blacks were smashed in the tackle, smashed in the collisions and smashed at forward, with the Bok pack taking complete control of every aspect of the up front battle as Siya Kolisi’s men set up camp for eight of the first 10 minutes in the All Black 22 metre area and enjoyed a vice-like grip on the territory and possession battle throughout the half.
That was box office rugby from the Springboks ??
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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 25, 2023
The Boks ended with five tries to a late consolation effort from All Black reserve scrumhalf Cam Roigard as they beat their previous record winning margin against the Kiwis by a considerable distance.
SA GOT SOMETHING BUT KIWIS JUST GOT PROBLEMS
There were many questions asked before this game over what the respective teams would get out of the game, with there being understood to be an element of risk to such a tough game being played just two weeks before the kick-off to the World Cup.
The answer to that question is that it certainly helped the Boks with their confidence and their momentum but the All Blacks would have got very little out of it. Their lock Scott Barrett was red carded after being shown two yellows in the game, but even more problematic for them was the injury suffered by prop Tyrel Lomax early on.
The Boks by contrast didn’t appear to suffer any injuries and their one yellow card, shown in the second half to blindside flank Pieter-Steph du Toit, stayed yellow when it was reviewed as per the bunker system to be adopted at the World Cup.
In the first half there were shades of the Bok start at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit last year, perhaps in more ways than one, as the All Blacks put in an heroic defensive effort that somehow kept the Boks scoreless until the 16th minute, which was when Kolisi forced his way over between the posts for the first try of the game.
But there was much to say about that first quarter hour, with the first Bok penalty coming at the first scrum and then a slew of penalties going the South African way both at the lineout and when they got their drive going. They opted not to kick for posts, instead maintaining the pressure on the Kiwis until it was translated into the first yellow card shown to Barrett.
INDISCIPLINE UNDER PRESSURE
That didn’t stop the New Zealand indiscipline, who although they defended well looked as stunned as the Boks were in the first 20 minutes of the recent Castle Lager Rugby Championship match at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland. The difference this time was that the dominant team didn’t score as easily as the All Blacks did back in July, but that was to come later.
When Kolisi crossed for his try his opposing captain Sam Cane had joined Barrett in the bin, so it was 15 against 13, but that shouldn’t detract from the Boks’ performance, which was five star in every aspect. The All Blacks played with 14 men for the entire second half but the game had been won and lost long before then.
The second Bok try came after the half hour mark from the ever elusive Kurt-Lee Arendse, who intercepted a New Zealand attempted offload as they tried to run their way out of the intense pressure they were under and dotted down between the posts.
The second half was only a few minutes old when Malcolm Marx slid over in the right corner as Kolisi went blind from an attacking lineout and at 21-0 there was only going to be one winner. The All Blacks had a try to Will Jordan disallowed just before halftime but it was the Boks’ turn to have one disallowed when Canan Moodie kicked through to gather himself and score not long after the Marx try.
SEVEN MAN BOMB SQUAD
By then the Boks had made a one off seven man change, with the seven/one split between forwards and backs announced shortly before kick-off allowing the South Africans to replace all but one player in the pack in one go. That was the cue for the dominance at forward to just intensify, with the creaking All Black scrum destroyed and the Munster duo of Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman continuing what Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert had started in the first half by poaching All Black lineout ball with seeming impunity.
The Boks made up for the Moodie disallowed try soon enough when they drove Bongi Mbonambi over the line and it was 35-0 when Manie Libbok, who kicked everything in this game as well as being imperious in general play, slotted the conversion to Kwagga Smith’s try. It was a rout, and the late Kiwi try didn’t change that fact.
SCORES
SOUTH AFRICA 35 - Tries: Siya Kolisi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Kwagga Smith; Conversion: Manie Libbok 5. New Zealand 0 - Try: Cam Roigard; Conversion: Richie Mo’unga
